


Run In

by LyricalKris



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-17
Updated: 2013-10-18
Packaged: 2017-12-29 16:13:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1007444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyricalKris/pseuds/LyricalKris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his wife died leaving him to raise two girls on his own, Carlisle found some small amount of solace in running. A seemingly harmless decision to run a marathon ends up sending both his life and the life of single mom Bella Swan into a tailspin.</p><div class="center">
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    </a>
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	1. Disaster

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Readingmama](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Readingmama).



 

 

FAGE Six Pack

Title: Run In

Written for: Readingmama

Written By: LyricalKris

Rating: M

Summary/Prompt used: Couple meet while running a marathon

If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the facebook group:  Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.

  
<http://www.fanfiction.net/community/FAGE-6-pack/93625/>

Summary: After his wife died leaving him to raise two girls on his own, Carlisle found some small amount of solace in running. A seemingly harmless decision to run a marathon ends up sending both his life and the life of single mom Bella Swan into a tailspin.

 

 

 

**Chapter 1**

_Carlisle Cullen, you are a pervert._

 

Carlisle shook his head, trying to concentrate on the rhythm of his shoes on the pavement. Running was usually such a solitary sport, and Carlisle preferred it that way. There was a time when his head was a chaotic space, when he couldn’t think at all. Running had saved him then. The feel of the road under his feet, finally being alone with his thoughts. Those first months, he’d run himself ragged until he’d been so exhausted he could finally speak. It was his therapy, the only way he could keep ahead of his grief after the death of his wife, his beloved Esme.

 

It was his friend and nanny to his twin daughters, Rosalie and Alice, who had suggested he run a marathon. “It’s a good cause, Carlisle,” Jasper had said. “I know how much you like good causes. And running.”

 

Since Esme’s death, three years before, Jasper had figured out Carlisle worked best when he had a short term goal to work towards. It kept his feet moving, kept him operating from day to day. As of yet, he hadn’t been able to manage a long term goal. He worked at the hospital as he always had. He raised his precious girls. Except for those two constants, Carlisle lived a day at a time.

 

So at Jasper’s gentle insistence, Carlisle was now running in an annual race for the cure type marathon. It was different to run with a group rather than alone as he typically did. Some people sped ahead, others fell behind. Unfortunately for Carlisle, a pretty young brunette with an incredible ass always seemed to find a way to get right in front of him.

 

Well, he was still a man, after all, and good lord, it was just right there in front of him, bouncing in time with her run.

 

Carlisle shook his head and moved to pull ahead of her. This race was open to runners eighteen and over, so she was legal, but from the looks of it, only barely. He had no business looking at her like that when he was likely at least a decade and a half her senior.

 

Anyway, the race was almost over. The last hill was right in front of him. Carlisle upped his pace. Though his muscles burned and he was exhausted, he knew his girls were close by.

 

Just as he reached the crest of the hill, Murphy’s law struck. With a vengeance. He had run up alongside the brunette when the toe of his foot hit the ground the wrong way. He pitched forward, throwing his arms out on instinct, but he only succeeded in bringing the brunette down with him. He rolled. She rolled. And even that might have been fine except that, like Carlisle, many of the other runners had gotten excited at the idea they were nearing the end of the race. They’d broken out into sprints, and they couldn’t stop themselves fast enough. Carlisle groaned and curled inward on himself as he was pummeled by shoes.

 

Everything grew surreal and chaotic. People were shouting. Carlisle was trying to catch his breath, trying to breathe around the pain radiating through his sternum. He lifted his head to see other runners picking themselves up.

 

“Hey, hey. She’s not moving. Someone help!”

 

Carlisle’s stomach twisted. He took someone’s offered hand and got onto his knees, looking around frantically. There were fallen runners everywhere, but no one looked too bad except...

 

Except he saw a growing crowd around a form still on the ground. He saw long brunette hair and a limp outstretched hand.

 

“Oh, no.” He scrambled forward on his hands and knees in his haste to get forward.

 

“Buddy, you should probably stay put.”

 

Carlisle shook off the well meaning hands. Adrenaline and nature kicked in. “I’m a doctor. I can help. Let me help her.”

 

But by then, the onhand medics had gotten there, along with a majority of the crowd from the finish line. “Back. I need everyone to stand back!” one of the medics called.

 

Another medic was crouched by Carlisle, her hand firm on his shoulder. “Sir. You need to stay still.”

 

“I’m fine.” He was craning his neck, trying to see the girl who still hadn’t moved. His heart dropped as the crowd moved back. The scene was morbid. Her face was streaked with blood. Her leg was twisted at an unnatural angle. “I’m fine. Let me help.”

 

“Sir, calm down. You’re hurt. You need to calm down.” The medic was full on restraining him now, but Carlisle still struggled.

 

The only thing that could have diverted his attention at that point were the cries of his baby girls. “Daddy! Daddy!” They sounded terrified, and Carlisle swung his head away from the macabre sight of the broken woman.

 

“Ah, hell.” Jasper had both girls in his arms, and he was struggling to keep them there. They wiggled and kicked, trying desperately to get to their father.

 

“Girls.” Carlisle held his arm out, and only then did he realize he was scraped to high hell. His arms were bloodied. A glance at his legs told him they didn’t look much better. He was a mess. “Stay back, girls. I’m okay. I promise.” But even as he said the words, he became aware of the throbbing in his torso.

 

“Let’s get your shirt off. Check the damage,” the medic said, and Carlisle acquiesced, letting himself slip into the role of the patient.

 

“Bella!” A frantic voice cut through the crowd. “Christ. Bella. Let me go. Let me get to her.”

 

Carlisle looked up to see a handsome young man around the brunette’s age trying to push his way toward her. He looked horrified, and Carlisle’s heart broke at the sight of him being held back as he tried to get to her. A boyfriend perhaps.

 

Minutes passed as the medic examined him. Two ambulances pulled up, and despite Carlisle’s protests, he was loaded into one of them.

  
The girl never stirred.


	2. Impatient

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Let’s see how Bella’s doing, shall we?

Carlisle was restless. Popular theory was doctors made the worst patients, but that wasn’t true. Doctors who had patients to tend to made the worst patients. Not that Bella was his patient, but he was frustrated.

 

“Dr. Cullen.” Dr. Tanya Ivanova’s tone was mild. “If you would sit still for just a few more minutes so I can finish these stitches, you’ll be out of this room quicker.”

 

“I’m sorry. I just wish someone would come tell me how she’s doing.”

 

She took her eyes off her work for a few seconds to look him in the eyes. “This isn’t your fault.”

 

Carlisle said nothing, and Tanya sighed. She stood up, taking off her gloves as she did. “Well, you know the drill, I assume. Your insides are bruised. Stay home. Don’t let the girls climb on you, and do not try to come into work at least the rest of the week.” When he looked toward the door she got in his way. “I’m serious.”

 

“I am a doctor, Dr. Ivanova.”

 

“Then you know what could happen if you don’t.” She studied him for a long moment before she was satisfied. “Okay. I’m sure Ali and Rose are beside themselves.”

 

Of course Carlisle wanted to see his daughters, but he knew they were fine. Scared for their daddy, but he would live. He wanted to know more about the girl’s condition. Bella, her husband had called her. He wanted to erase that last image of her: her hand limp and outstretched.

 

Then again, she could be dead.

 

No. He wouldn’t allow himself to believe that. It was too much waste. A young woman felled by a fellow runner in a freak accident? No.

 

The moment he stepped out into the hallway, he was distracted by two high pitched, overlapping voices calling for him. “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.”

 

“Whoa. Whoa.” Jasper tried to hold Alice and Rosalie back, but they were desperate to get to their father. “Girls, be careful. Daddy is hurt.”

 

Rosalie skidded to a halt, but Alice kept right on. She barreled into his legs, and Carlisle winced.

 

“Ali,” Rose said. She wagged a finger in her sister’s face. “You hurt Daddy.”

 

“No. Look, the other doctors made him all better.” Alice pointed at his bandages and looked up. “Right, Daddy?”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“See?” Alice brightened, and lifted her arms for a hug. Not to be left out, Rosalie skittered to his side and held her arms out.

 

“Are you sure you should...” Jasper cut himself off. He rolled his eyes as Carlisle stooped to gather his girls to him.

 

It hurt, but their tight hugs were well worth it.

 

“I promise I’m fine.” He kissed each of them before he set them down. “Now I need you to go home with Jasper. I need to do a few things.”

 

“Carlisle,” Jasper said. The word was an admonishment and a plea all at once.

 

Carlisle looked up, running his fingers through his daughters’ hair as he spoke. “I have to see if there’s anything I can do. I’m responsible.”

 

“What do you think you can do for that girl?” Jasper kept his tone light, but his eyes were narrowed.

 

“I don’t know. Something. Maybe I’m her blood type, and I can give blood.”

 

Jasper’s eyes went to the exposed scrapes on his arms, the least of his injuries. “I think you already gave enough blood today. You gave your girls a scare. You should be with them.”

 

“This won’t take long. I’ll be right behind you.”

 

“How are you going to get home when I have the only car?”

 

“I’ll take a taxi.” When Jasper still didn’t move, Carlisle shook his head. “Please.”

 

His friend and the girl’s nanny sighed, but he nodded. “Do what you have to do, but get home soon.”

 

Carlisle spared a smile for Jasper. He was a good man, and he’d been a good addition to Carlisle’s struggling family. “Yes, dear.”

 

Jasper shook his head. He reached down, gathering first one then the other girl in his arms. “Come on, my beautiful princesses.”

 

“But Jaspa, Daddy has to come home now,” Rose said. She held her arms out for her father, but Jasper had already turned around.

 

“The quicker we let Daddy get back to work, the quicker he’ll come home.”

 

Carlisle waited for Jasper to get around the corner with the girls before he tracked back to the nurses’ station. He received two more strong suggestions to go home to his babies before he got the information he was looking for.

 

Isabella Swan. Age twenty-one. Unresponsive to her environment. Comatose. There was swelling in her brain they were trying to treat with medicine, but her doctor had noted he thought it was likely she would require surgery soon if the pressure got worse.

 

No insurance was listed.

 

“Please arrange to have her bills sent to me.”

 

Nurse Cope balked. “Dr. Cullen-”

 

“Please,” he said, and before she could argue again, he headed in the direction of the ICU.

 

As a doctor, Carlisle had seen many horrific injuries. He was a surgeon. He saw people’s insides on a regular basis. Still, nothing could have prepared him for the dismay that hit him like a blow to the chest when he saw the woman in the bed.

 

She seemed smaller than he remembered, dwarfed by the machinery in the room and the bed she lay in. Her leg was in a cast. There were bruises and contusions all over her exposed leg above the cast and her arms. The worst of the bruising was to the side of her face, where her skin was variegated hues of purple and red. The swelling made her features look odd.

 

Carlisle lingered in the doorway, watching the unnatural way her body moved with the aid of the respirator.

 

“Excuse me. Can I help you?”

 

Carlisle’s attention was drawn to the form sitting by her bedside. It was the young man he’d heard calling Bella’s name at the scene. He looked drawn and irritated. Carlisle couldn’t blame him. He supposed it looked like he was staring at the woman like she was a sideshow act.

 

“I’m sorry. I came to pay my respects and apologize, for what little that might be worth right now.”

 

The young man’s eyes swept over him. “You’re a runner. You were hurt, too.”

 

Carlisle hung his head. “I’m the one who tripped.” He looked up. The young man’s face had gone blank. “I’m so sorry.”

 

The other man stared, and Carlisle thought he saw anger flash through his green eyes. But then he took a deep breath and looked back to the woman in the bed. “Bella would say you were being silly for blaming yourself. She trips all the time.” He looked back to Carlisle. “I’m sure you didn’t mean to hurt her.”

 

“No. Of course not.” He paused a beat. “I’m Carlisle Cullen. I’m a doctor here.”

 

The man nodded, and he ran his hand over his face. “Edward Masen. I’m here for a patient, obviously.”

 

“Your, um...” Carlisle checked his fingers for a ring. The young man didn’t have one, but then again, he wouldn’t have been allowed in the ICU if he wasn’t family or a medical power of attorney. “Your wife is in good hands here.”

 

Edward huffed. “She’s not my wife. She’s everything to me, but she’s not my wife or my girlfriend. Not that it matters. I’m just tired. And worried.” He took a shaking breath. “I don’t know what to say to her little boy.”

 

Carlisle’s heart skipped a beat. “What?”

 

“Jacob. He’s three. It’s just her. No family. She’s all he has.”

 

“Christ,” Carlisle murmured under his breath.

 

“But it’s fine, right? Because she’s going to live.”

 

Carlisle raised his head and nodded. “Yes. Yes, of course she’s going to live.”

~0~

Over the next few days,  Bella's condition didn't worsen, but it didn't get better either.  She slept on, oblivious to her visitors, what few of them there were. Edward visited most often. He brought Jacob with him as often as possible, but he was right. Bella was all that little boy had and vice versa. She seemed so alone, too alone. The idea got under Carlisle’s skin.

 

Unable to sleep one night, Carlisle left a note for Jasper and went to sit by Bella's bedside. He tried to observe her with a clinical eye. He studied her charts and noted for himself the improvements he saw. Her face wasn't as grotesquely swollen as it had been a few days before. She was banged up, her face scraped and bruised, but her features were clearer. She was very pretty.

 

Guilt came on the heels of that thought, and Carlisle sighed as he sat in the chair next to her bed. He had no right for thoughts like that, to admire her while she lay there fighting for her life. Not when it was his fault.

 

Carlisle believed in miracles. He believed the touch, sound, and presence of their loved ones helped people heal as much if not more than doctors and medicine. Edward took care of the love. He was there as often as work and caring for Bella’s son allowed. He brought Jacob with him in the evenings. Tentative, Carlisle reached out to take Bella’s hand, telling himself she could only benefit from touch - the physical anchor to the tangible world.

 

Her skin was so soft.

 

“I met your son today,” he said as though they were old friends. “I’d missed him before. He’s a beautiful boy, Bella. Very smart.” And precocious. He was a handful to be sure, and he was displacing his fear for his mother with anger at Edward. “He’s a good boy.”

 

He rubbed his finger over her knuckles as if he could soothe the healing scrapes there with his touch alone. “I have kids just a few months older than Jacob. Twin girls. Rosalie and Alice.”

 

Carlisle’s throat felt tight. Almost five years later, it was still difficult to talk about this. Why he was telling this comatose woman, he didn’t know, but that didn’t stop him. “My wife-- her name was Esme. My wife and I had trouble conceiving. It was very difficult. We lost several pregnancies, and Esme was so tired. She was ready to stop. I know she wanted nothing more than to carry her own children, so I... I pushed her to try. Just once more. I told her I had a good feeling, and what do you know?” He smiled, clasping Bella’s hand in both of his. “We got a two for one deal.”

 

His breath stuttered. He never got used to this mixture of the pleasure and pain when he thought about it. On the one hand, he got two perfect miracles, and he couldn’t imagine his life without them. But on the other hand… “I love my girls. They’re my heart and my life, but if I’d known…” He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. “Esme was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer. We had a limited window, and she was pregnant. By the time the girls were born, it was too late, and she died when they were four months old.”

 

For long minutes, there was only the noise of the ventilator and Carlisle’s ragged breath. “I sat here like this with her, and I felt like it was my fault. She told me I was stupid. We wouldn’t have figured out she was sick until much later if she wasn’t pregnant.”

 

He looked up, studying the young woman’s features again. “Edward said you’d tell me this wasn’t my fault, but that hardly makes a difference. I see another woman dying because of me and another baby without a mother.”

 

He shook his head. “But it’s not the same, right? You’re getting stronger. They say tomorrow they’re going to try to take you off the ventila-”

 

Bella’s body jerked. The hand he was holding gripped him so hard, Carlisle gasped, but he didn’t have time to dwell. Bella’s eyes were open, unfocused. She thrashed and gagged, fighting the ventilator. Carlisle hit the call button.

  
“You’re going to be okay.” He cupped her face, trying to still her head. He stroked her cheeks to comfort her. “Calm down, sweetheart. You’re going to be just fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: How are we doing out there kids?


	3. Bella

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh, my canonites who have never ventured into non-canon. I love you. I hope you enjoy the ride!

Bella was worried.

 

Well, she was a lot of things. She was confused, in pain, and tired. Time existed in strange lurches and lulls between sleep. Every time she opened her eyes, there was a new doctor or nurse asking her a different question or poking her with needles or testing her for… whatever.

 

There were bright spots. She woke up once to her son’s voice. When she dragged her eyes open, his face lit up, and none of the pain she felt mattered. He was, as always, her sun, the warmth in her universe. He scrambled off Edward’s lap and into bed with her. They both ignored Edward’s scolding that they needed to be careful. Bella kept herself from hissing in pain when Jake’s foot connected with her side because she didn’t want to hear his “I told you so.”

 

Jake covered her face in kisses and told her she slept too long and that was not okay. He informed her Edward was not his friend because “he sucks” which made Edward snort and mutter, “I don’t usually get complaints about it.” Bella gave them both a stern look. Jacob pushed Edward away when her friend gave her a forehead kiss Jacob deemed as “gross.”

 

But all too soon, Edward had to take Jacob home, and Bella was tired again.

 

When she woke, the room was quiet. A glance outside told her it was nighttime, and Bella had nothing to do but worry. She knew, for instance, she had no insurance and all these doctors and tests had to be paid for somehow. She knew she’d only barely started a job a month before that required the use of her right leg because it required a fair amount of driving. The cast on her leg was almost as big as she was. Driving was out of the question even if she was ready to go home. She had bills and rent, and none of this time off work she was taking was paid leave. She hadn’t been working there long enough.

 

Steady footsteps distracted Bella from her thoughts. She sighed, wondering what the nurses were going to do to her. Maybe a little more blood. She wondered if she would feel less tired if they left some blood inside her.

 

When she turned her head to the door, it wasn’t a nurse. It was a blond man in street clothes. He was handsome and familiar somehow. He seemed startled when he saw she was looking at him, and he stopped short before he got to her bed. “Oh. Hello,” he said.

 

Bella’s brain was running a few seconds slow at that point, so she stared rudely before she answered. “Do I know you?” Her stomach churned. The doctors had said she might experience lapses in memory. There had been swelling in her brain, as terrifying as that thought was. There might be damage. Time would tell, they said. It was all maddeningly imprecise.

 

“Um.” The man took a few more steps forward. “No. We don’t know each other.”

 

Bella was dubious. There was something off about his statement.  She was about to ask him what he was doing in her room in the middle of the night when a flash of memory hit her. “Oh. You were here last night. When I woke up.” She remembered the stark terror that was all she knew until her vision focused on blue, blue eyes.

 

His eyes.

 

His cheeks tinted pink. “I was.”

 

“Are you a doctor?”

 

“I am but not yours.”

 

“Oh.” Again, something was off. She was missing something.

 

“I…” He stepped all the way over to her bed. When he sat in the chair beside her, Bella got the distinct impression it wasn’t because he was making himself comfortable, but because he didn’t want to tower over her. The furtive way he glanced at her made her think he was ashamed about something. “I suppose I owe you an apology. More than one because I probably shouldn’t be here.”

 

“Um.” Bella rubbed her eyes. “Look, unless you have some fetish about girls in hospital beds who, I’m sure, look like death warmed over, I can see you’re not some peeping Tom.”

 

The man blinked and then he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “No. No. Of course not. Though you’re very pretty. I mean…”

 

He was blushing. He was full on blushing.

 

His lips pursed in a rueful smile, and he looked up at her from under long eyelashes. “My name is Carlisle Cullen, and no, I wasn’t here… for that. I was here because I wanted to tell you how sorry I am.”

 

“For what?”

 

He explained what had happened during the marathon. Bella was confused. “You tripped. I trip all the time. I tripped once when I was holding my son, and we have matching scars.” She pointed to a small scar above her right eyebrow. “It’s not your fault.” She narrowed her eyes as she processed. “So you came here in the middle of the night to apologize to me when I wasn’t conscious?”

 

“It sounds horrible when you put it that way. I couldn’t sleep. It’s seemed wrong to sleep since the accident. I was the one who tripped, and I have stitches and internal bruising. You, on the other hand.” He gestured at her. “You came dangerously close to dying, and here you are, stuck away from your own bed. It seems so unfair. So I came to sit with you and talk. I’m sorry if that was out of line.”

 

Bella thought about it. “It doesn’t bother me.” It seemed sweet to her. “I saw that on Scrubs, so who knows if it’s true, but don’t doctors sit with their patients sometimes?”

 

“Sometimes. But you’re not my patient.”

 

“So you used your doctor influence to get around that whole visiting hours thing?”

 

His lips quirked. “I suppose I did.”

 

“That might be ethically questionable.” She yawned. “But that doesn’t bother me either. It might bother me later when I’m not on these pain meds anymore.”

 

“They do have you on a few good meds.”

 

“Yeah.” She yawned again. Her eyelids felt heavy. “You’re probably cheating with this apologizing while I’m on meds thing. You should come back when I’m sober and try again. Just to make sure.”

 

“You wouldn’t mind?”

 

Bella hummed. Her eyelids were drooping. “They said they’d help me take a shower tomorrow. I might even look presentable by then.”

 

She thought she heard him say something else, something that sounded like, “You look plenty presentable now,” but she might have been mistaken. She was already most of the way asleep.

~0~

When Bella woke up, she was confused about her dreams from the night before. It was Saturday, and since Edward didn’t have to work, he was there fairly early. After inquiring about the whereabouts of her son-- with a friend until that afternoon -- Bella told Edward about her strange dream.

 

“You’re a bad influence on me. I’m in the hospital recovering from a traumatic head injury, and I’m having hot doctor fantasies.”

 

Edward hummed. “Was your doctor blond and good looking enough to belong on a movie set instead of a hospital? About my height but slightly wider across the shoulders?”

 

Bella eyed her friend. “Yeah.”

 

“Yeah, he exists. Dr. Carlisle Cullen?”

 

“I should have known I wasn’t creative enough to come up with a name like that on my own.”

 

“What the heck was he doing in your room in the middle of the night?”

 

“He wanted to apologize.”

 

Edward continued to stare at her coolly. “In the middle of the night?”

 

“It’s hazy to me. I’m on drugs, dammit.” She squirmed. “He seemed so earnest about it. Sweet.”

 

“He is very sweet.”

 

“So you know him.”

 

“Yeah, he came in here guilty as hell the day this all happened. I told him you’d tell him he was being stupid.”

 

“I think I was more polite than that.”

 

Edward grinned at her. “I do know you so well.” He cleared his throat. “He’s paying all your bills.”

 

“What?” Bella started to sit up and regretted it. She groaned in pain as she settled back down.

 

“Take it easy, Bella.” Edward rubbed her arm.

 

“Well, that’s ridiculous. That’s… way too much.”

 

“He feels responsible.”

 

“He isn’t though. You shouldn’t have let him do that.”

 

Edward laughed. “I can’t control what a grown man does anymore than I can control what you do.” He brushed her hair back out of her eyes. “It’s a kind gesture, and you could use one less thing to worry about. Just take it for what it is. He seems like a genuinely good guy. Jake even likes him, and you know how much he hates anyone I like.”

 

“He’s met Jake?”

 

“Yeah. He was worried about you. He stopped in to check on you several times a day, as far as I could tell. And apparently in the middle of the night.” His smile became mischievous. “And he’s incredibly attractive, Bella. I mean, Christ. If you don’t want a crack at that, I might take my chances.”

 

Bella laughed and winced. “Agh, don’t make me laugh, asshole. It hurts.”

 

“I wasn’t trying to be funny. He is hot. It’s only because of your condition I’m giving you first dibs, but I’m telling you right now. If you don’t get on that soon, I’ll do it for you.”

 

“How nice of you to take one for the team.” Bella sighed. That pain spike had done a number on her energy. She was tired. Again. “Well, tell him not to be a stranger if you see him. He needs to understand he’s not responsible for me. That’s ridiculous. And it’s too much.”

 

Edward grinned. “I told him you’d say that.”

~0~

Another week passed. As Bella got stronger, Carlisle became more than a kindhearted stranger; he became a friend. It was nice to have a doctor in her corner. He often helped her sift through the information the other doctors told her, dumbing down diagnoses and doctor-speak so she understood her condition and her choices. He was patient with Jake, and Bella found the way he smiled when he spoke of his twin girls endearing.

 

He was also batshit insane, and she told him so. Frequently.

 

“You’re crazy. You’re certifiable, you know that?”

 

Carlisle’s smile was bemused. “You might have mentioned that. If you’re uncomfortable, I understand, but-”

 

“It’s not that.” Bella pressed her lips together as she considered Carlisle’s offer.

 

The doctors were ready to release her to outpatient care, but she had a lot of healing left to do. She was supposed to rest most of the day and work on regaining her strength slowly. On top of that, her leg was shattered. It would take physical therapy before she could walk on it, and that was down the line, after her bones had had a chance to mend.

 

Bella had no idea how she was going to manage having an active three-year-old in a fourth story apartment. Work promised she would have a job to come back to, but that didn’t solve the problem of how she was going to keep a roof over her head and food on the table.

 

It didn’t solve all her problems, but Carlisle had mentioned he had a large house with more than enough room.

 

Bella sighed. “You hardly know me.”

 

“And I have two little girls at home. Believe me, Bella, if I were uncomfortable with the arrangement or felt like you would be a detriment to my girls, I wouldn’t be offering no matter how responsible I feel. They come first. And I understand Jacob comes first for you, so I understand if you want to say no because it’s not the best thing for you or him. But please don’t say no because you think you’ll be putting me out. You won’t be.

 

“There are two bedrooms downstairs that aren’t being used. My girls, myself, and Jasper all have rooms upstairs. Jasper is a live-in nanny, and I’ve already spoken to him. He has no problem taking on an extra charge.”

 

Bella snorted. “He hasn’t met Jake. He’s a handful.”

 

“And my girls, as much as I love them, are no picnic. Jasper is good at what he does, and I don’t mind a noisy household.” He leaned on the railing of her bed. “I have to get back to work, but please at least promise you’ll consider it. I’d like to help you.”

 

“None of this is your fault,” she said for what had to be the millionth time.

 

“That’s beside the point.” He tilted his head and smiled at her. “I’d like to think we’re friends. Fast friends, perhaps, but… I like you. Genuinely, not because I feel responsible.”

 

Bella smiled back, feeling warm despite the cold temperature of the hospital room. “Yeah. We’re friends.” She sighed. “And yes. I’ll think about it.”

 

He nodded. “Good. I’ll be back to say hi after my shift.”

 

“Looking forward to it,” Bella said, and she was surprised to note how much she wasn’t lying.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: By the way, there are ten chapters.


	4. Meet the Kids

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hail, hail, the gang’s all here.

Carlisle did come back after his shift. By then, Edward and Jake were there. Edward glanced at Bella and raised his eyebrows. Not an hour before, he asserted Carlisle looked about a thousand times hotter in his lab coat.

 

Bella had to concede that point to Edward. She wasn’t so out of her head she couldn’t recognize a handsome man when she saw one, but what did that have to do with anything? She ruffled Jacob’s hair. As if she had time for handsome men.

 

“I am a man of my word,” Carlisle said with a smile. “I came to say hi.”

 

“Hi,” Jake said before Bella could answer.

 

“Well, hello.” Carlisle came closer and tilted his head to see what Jacob was holding. “What do you have there?”

 

“It’s Halloween soon.” Jake offered him the catalogue he’d been holding. Bella struggled not to sigh. If she’d been home, she would have kept her son away from the mail, but Edward had stacked it on the table. Ever curious, Jake had gotten into it, and now she was gearing up for a fight.

 

To her surprise, when Carlisle took the catalogue, Jake held his arms out to be picked up. Carlisle was easy with him, picking him up as if it was second nature. Jake pointed to a picture in the catalogue. “See? This is what I wanna be. But Mom wants me to be a dog.”

 

“You’d make a cute dog,” Bella said. What she meant was the dog costume was much easier to afford than the complex one her son wanted. She sighed inwardly. His first three Halloweens were so much easier. He hadn’t been as opinionated.

 

She saw Carlisle glance at her before he returned his attention to Jake and the catalogue. “That is a pretty cool costume, but I think you’d make a rather fierce dog.”

 

Jake fixed him with an exaggerated expression of disdain. “You’re just saying that.”

 

Carlisle smiled and ruffled his hair. Before the discussion could continue, Bella’s room got quite a bit more crowded.

 

“See, I told you we’d find Daddy here.”

 

Bella tilted her head as a blond man entered the room followed by two tiny girls. The girls were polar opposites. One was small as a bird with short, dark hair. The other was blond and built sturdily. She wasn’t chubby, just not as waifish as the little one. Even before they clamored for Carlisle, Bella would have known they were his. The miniature blond was the spitting image, just as pretty as her daddy, and the dark-haired one had his eyes.

 

The blond was glaring daggers at Bella’s son. She marched up to Carlisle and lifted her arms. “Daddy, I want up.”

 

He seemed bemused. Bella held her arms out. “Here, Jake. Come back here.”

 

By the time Carlisle transferred Jake back to Bella’s side, his daughter was practically climbing him. “Take it easy, Rose. I have you,” he said, pulling her up his body and settling her on his hip.

 

In the meantime, the dark-haired girl had also gotten free of her caretaker’s hand. She clambered up onto Edward’s lap, ignoring him completely to look over Bella. Her little hands touched Bella’s cast and her brows knitted together as she looked at the gash on her head. “Did you break your face?”

 

“Alice. Be polite.”

 

“She’s okay.” Bella smiled at the little girl. “My face isn’t broken, but my head is. Just a little.”

 

“Ohhh. You’re the one who slept for a long time.”

 

Carlisle sighed. “Bella, Edward, Jacob, these are my daughters. Alice and Rosalie. And this is their nanny, Jasper. Jasper, Rose, Alice, this is Bella, Edward, and Jacob.”

 

“Come on back here, Alice. You shouldn’t be climbing on people like that,” Jasper said after hellos were exchanged. He reached forward to take Alice back, but the little girl clung tight to Edward’s neck.

 

“No, it’s okay. We’re going to be friends.” She looked at Edward. “Can we be friends?”

 

Edward grinned. “Sure, little face.”

 

Alice screwed her lips up. “My name is Alice.” She looked surprised but pleased when they all laughed, and she let go of Edward to look back to Bella. “Can we be friends, too?”

 

“Of course, Miss Alice.”

 

“I don’t want to be friends,” Rosalie declared. The words were muffled against Carlisle’s skin, and Bella recognized a clingy, jealous child when she saw one.

 

“Well, I don’t want to be friends with you,” Jacob said.

 

“Jake,” Bella said at the same time Carlisle said, “Rosalie.”

 

“What? She’s mean.”

 

“Aw. Rose didn’t mean it. She’ll be friends with you later,” Alice said. “Can we be friends?”

 

Jake looked dubious. “I don’t know yet.”

 

Alice cocked her head. “We will be.”

 

Bella smiled at Carlisle. “She knows what she wants.”

 

“Understatement. I’m afraid I’m raising a couple of stubborn girls.” He ran his hand over Rosalie’s back as he spoke, and the tenderness in his eyes when he talked about his girls was unmistakable.

 

Jake chose that moment to announce he was hungry. It was the kind of hunger that caught, and soon all three kids were bellyaching.

 

“I can take them down to the cafeteria. It’s no problem,” Jasper said. He looked to Bella. “If you’re okay with it.”

 

“I’m okay, if you’re okay. Jake, do you mind going with Jasper?”

 

Jake eyed him and then shrugged. “Okay.” Jake was okay with most anything that involved him getting food.

 

“He’s not shy at all, is he?” Carlisle said with a laugh.

 

“Not even a little bit.” Bella shook her head.

 

Carlisle tried to transfer Rosalie back to Jasper, but she clung tight, making that grumbling noise small kids were prone to that clearly meant, “noooooo.” He looked at his daughter. “What has gotten into you?”

 

She tightened her arms around his neck. “I want you to feed me ‘n Ali.”

 

He looked like he was about to argue, but Alice decided to gang up on him with her twin. She pulled out the puppy dog look. “Daddy, please?”

 

Carlisle caved. “We’ll be back.”

 

Edward made a move to get up, and Bella noticed only then that he was making eyes at Jasper. She smirked and caught him by the belt. “Not you. I need to talk to you.” They had been talking in doublespeak to avoid tipping Jacob off to Carlisle’s offer. Bella jumped at the chance to talk with him alone. Her best friend made a face, but he sat back down.

 

When the group was gone, she turned to Edward. “Tell me I’m crazy for even considering this.”

 

He raised an eyebrow. “I could, but you’re not.”

 

“Come on. We don’t know each other, not really. He could be a serial killer. He could be… a lot of things.”

 

“Who? The man you just let walk out of here with your child?”

 

Bella grimaced.

 

Edward leaned forward. “If you don’t take him up on his offer, what else are you going to do? I wish to hell I had room for you. It’s killing me I can’t take care of you, but what are your options here? You do need help, Bella. It sucks, but that’s the way it is. He seems nice, and the fact he has babies of his own means he’s risking just about as much as you are.”

 

“Mutually assured destruction?”

 

“Something to that effect.” He tilted his head, his expression thoughtful. “Once upon a time, the kindness of strangers was the only way people survived. I have a good feeling about him, Bella. He’s good people.”

~0~

It was hard to tell who was more nervous, Carlisle or Bella.

 

“I, um. I moved Rosalie’s old bed into the downstairs bedroom. There’s still plenty of space.”

 

Her lips twitched. “Your daughter is three. How does she already have an old bed?”

 

Carlisle had to smile. “I told you, my daughters are stubborn and very opinionated. Rose liked the racecar bed for about a month before she refused to sleep in it.”

 

“And you gave her exactly what she wanted.” Carlisle was quiet, and Bella winced. “I’m sorry. I hope that didn’t come out so judgy. I’m not one to judge, believe me. I was eighteen when Jake was born.” She looked down.

 

Carlisle squatted in front of her wheelchair, so he could look her in the eyes. “He’s a beautiful boy, Bella. I know we haven’t known each other for very long, but I can see you’re a good mother.”

 

To his surprise, her eyes filled with tears. She pressed her knuckles to her lips. “I’m sorry.”

 

“This is a lot to take in. Don’t apologize.” He wanted to tell her that he was amazed. With all the stress she was under, so many unanswered questions, she was holding up remarkably well.

 

She sniffled and smiled as she looked up at him. “What do your patients say about your bedside manner?”

 

He grinned. “I get good grades.”

 

“Imagine my surprise.” Her eyes were still watery, but there was a spark of mischief there that captivated him. He had the strangest urge to touch her. It was an innocent notion. He wanted to rest his hand on her knee to comfort her or cup her cheek to wipe away her tears.

 

Instead, he stood and got behind her wheelchair, pulling her out of the room. “Shall we see if the kids are getting along?”

 

They weren’t. Jake was trying to play with Rosalie’s toys. Alice was offering hers willingly, but he wasn’t interested. He wanted Rosalie’s, and she wasn’t having it.

 

“Rosalie Lillian Cullen.” Carlisle crossed his arms. Rosalie stood and mimicked his stance, though her lower lip pouted out. “I know we talked about sharing.”

 

She scowled, but she pushed one of the cars in her hands at him. “Here. I don’t like this one.”

 

Carlisle shook his head and turned back to Bella. “Well, if we haven’t scared you off yet, how do you feel about Chinese?”

~0~

Carlisle was sitting alone in the kitchen when he heard a door. He turned the corner to find the door to Bella’s room open. She looked more pale than usual, and it wasn’t long before Carlisle figured out why. She was standing and she shouldn’t have been. She leaned heavily on the door jamb, hopping on one foot, muffling her obvious pain with small grunts. There was no way jostling her body like that could be anything less than incredibly painful.

 

He hurried forward and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Come on. Lean on me.” She was panting too hard to argue. What he really wanted to do was sweep her up into his arms, but he knew better. “Where are you trying to get to?”

 

“Kitchen,” she said between breaths. “Want… something warm.”

 

“Okay. How about the living room? It’s closer and more comfortable. I’ll make you whatever you want. Tea. Coffee. We have some apple cider that the girls love. And hot chocolate, of course.”

 

She glared at him out of the side of her eyes, and he was sure she was going to argue. Before she could, her features twisted, and she gave a soft cry of pain as she leaned heavily on him. “Okay. Living room.”

Carlisle said little as they made a slow progress toward the living room. She hobbled forward an inch at a time while he murmured soft words of encouragement. When they finally got to the couch, he guided her body, heavy with her exhaustion, down on the couch. She closed her eyes as she tried to catch her breath.

 

“What’s your preference?” he asked, stopping himself from pushing the damp strands of hair from her face. “How about cider?”

 

Her nod was slight but it was there. Carlisle excused himself to make the cider. He cut up a fresh apple as well in case she wanted something to regain her strength.

 

When he got back to the living room with his tray, she looked a lot better. Color had returned to her cheeks, and she was sitting up. He helped her prop her leg up with a pillow on the table before he sat down, leaving a cushion of space between them.

 

“You didn’t take your pain meds, did you?” Carlisle asked. “You should. It would help you sleep.”

 

“They make me cloudy, and I can’t take care of Jake when I’m like that.”

 

“Jake is asleep.”

 

“And what if he wakes up?”

 

“You could call me. I would help if you needed something. Or Jasper. There’s a reason Jasper lives with us.”

 

Bella pulled a sour face, staring off as she sipped her cider. She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. You’re doing so much for me, and I shouldn’t be a brat. It’s just very frustrating to be so useless.”

 

Carlisle had never wanted to hug someone so much in his life. “You’re far from useless, Bella. Please don’t worry about being a burden. With all the stress you’re under, this is the least I can do. If it wasn’t for me-”

 

“Don’t start that again. If it had been me who tripped, I would have brought down the race. People would have died.”

 

“You came too close.”

 

She looked up at him. “Do you know how Edward and I met? It was a scalpel in biology class our junior year. I sliced open my knee of all places. Edward had to carry me to the nurse because I fainted.”

 

Carlisle tried to picture it but couldn’t. “How did you manage to cut your knee with a scalpel in class?”

 

“Talent.”

 

Carlisle chuckled. They drank in silence for another minute as he tried to figure out the right words. “I can’t know how you feel, but I’d imagine it’s hard. It’s hard, raising babies on your own.”

 

She huffed. “Yeah. I’m sure the live-in nanny helps.” She made a little noise of horror. “Oh, I can’t believe I said that. I’m sorry. That was rude and ungrateful.”

 

“Relax, Bella. It is different. Jasper is a partner of sorts. You have no one.”

 

She rolled her head to look at him. “Yeah, and whose fault is that? You have a live-in nanny because you obviously worked your ass off for all this.” She gestured around them. “You must think I’m such an idiot.”

 

“Why would I think that?”

 

“Pregnant teen, still broke, taking jobs that don’t offer health insurance? Come on. The whole situation reeks of irresponsibility. I know what I must look like to you.”

 

“I don’t think you do know what you look like to me.” He kept his voice light. “I have the benefit of twelve years on you. I’ve had more time to understand life doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Nothing is simple. I don’t judge you, Bella. I think judgement is hypocritical. We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all made choices that, in hindsight, if we knew then what we know now, we would have made differently. I’m very smart and responsible, but I’d be a fool not to recognize it would take only the smallest twist of fate, of luck, of circumstance for all this to be lost. Life is a precarious thing, and I’m sure there’s a story behind your situation.”

 

She was staring at him. “You know, that point of view has nothing to do with your age. People much older than you look down their nose at me. Most people would.”

 

“I’m not most people.” He scooted closer to her, enough so he could touch her hand. “We do the best with what we’re given. I don’t need to look further than Jacob to know you’ve got so many things right. He’s very smart, well loved, and taken care of. The fact you haven’t stopped worrying is telling.” He tilted his head. “Though I wish you would stop. You’ll get stronger quicker if you aren’t pushing yourself like you did tonight.”

 

He was rewarded with a withering glare, but she smiled. “Yes, Doctor.” She looked down, and only then did Carlisle realize he hadn’t moved his hand from hers. He did so then, wrapping his fingers back around his mug.

 

“You’re not curious about me?” Bella asked. “You don’t wonder how I ended up pregnant and alone at eighteen?”

 

“Of course I wonder, but I’m not going to pry.”

 

She hummed and took a long sip of her drink. “I love Jacob. I wouldn’t trade him for the world, but I wish the circumstances were different. The thing that sucks is my dad raised me better than this. He worked hard so I would have choices.

 

“My mother wasn’t cut out for motherhood. She left us when I was one. I haven’t seen her since I was seven, but that was fine. Dad and I worked well together, you know? He wanted everything for me.”

 

Her breath shuddered, and she kept her eyes turned down. “The summer after I graduated, we were out in La Push visiting Charlie’s best friend Billy and his son, Jacob.”

 

Carlisle’s stomach twisted. He sensed this story wasn’t going to end well. It couldn’t, of course, not if her father wasn’t around.

 

“Jacob and I were watching some of the older boys from the reservation throw themselves off a cliff. For recreation, you know? They were showing off. It was one of those things. Jake and I were calling each other’s bluffs, and we ended up flinging ourselves off the high cliffs together.” She shook her head, sounding bitter. “The jump was fine, but we swam in the water for too long. It got choppy. I got stranded on a rock and Jacob…” Her voice cracked.

 

Carlisle put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

 

Bella took a deep breath before she continued, still not looking at Carlisle. “My dad dove into the water to get us, to get me. He just got caught up in the same strong tide that got me and Jake.

 

“Anyway. Long story short, he was in the water a long time. He lived but there were too many complications. It was a domino effect. The doctors would fix one thing only to have something else go wrong until he’d just had enough. And Jake… they found his body three days after.”

 

Carlisle rubbed her back at a loss for what else to do. “I’m very sorry.”

 

Bella shook her head. “I didn’t go to college because I was taking care of my dad and when he died, I don’t know... I did some stupid things. I didn’t know what to do. Bills were piling up, there was some money, but not enough. And Jacob’s friend Paul kept coming over. I didn’t like him before Jake died, but after…”

 

“You were lonely,” Carlisle said.

 

“Yeah. I was. Paul’s kind of an idiot, but he’s not a bad guy. I think he was really trying to help me, and he thought distraction was the best policy. I lived in Forks then. There aren’t a lot of ways to get distracted there.” She rolled her eyes skyward. “I don’t know why I did it. It was nice not to have to think for a little while.” She grimaced. “But then I got pregnant, and I didn’t have the luxury of not thinking anymore.”

 

“And Paul?”

 

“About as cut out for the parenthood thing as my mother was.”

 

“He left.”

 

“I told him to go.” Bella set her cup down and wrung her hands. “That sounds terrible. He was there, but he was… He has no ambition. It’s not like I could get child support out of him even if I wanted it; he doesn’t have a job. I needed to get out of Forks. I needed to give Jake the life he deserved.”

 

“You don’t have to justify your reasoning to me. You made the decisions you felt were right for your and your son. I understand that. There are plenty of people who judge my decision to have a live-in nanny to help me with my girls, but it was the right choice for my family. I have no regrets. It sounds like you’re doing the best you can.”

 

She finally looked up then, her smile genuine. “You have no idea how great it is to hear someone say that.” When she breathed in, her breath stuttered, as though she were on the verge of tears. “I do try my best, and I want to believe I’m a good mom. It sucks, though.  It sucks my son will never know his grandfather, but at the same time, I’m glad I didn’t have to see the disappointment in his eyes.“

 

“Bella, if he was half the father you say he was, I have no doubt he would have been so proud of you.”

 

She looked down again, but he could see her lips curve up. “Thank you. For everything.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So that's Bella's story. What do we think?


	5. This Is Halloween

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: SIGH. Sigh. Sigh. Tiff. Listen. I am about to violate a SACRED SCENE for you. I do it all for you. *goes to pout and grumble in the corner*

It was Carlisle’s idea to take the kids to the Halloween store. Jasper had weekends off, so it was just him and Bella in her trusty wheelchair. Three three-year-olds in a Halloween shop was already a recipe for disaster, but they’d had lunch first at the mall food court, and Carlisle had been unable to resist pleas for cookies.

 

His funeral. It wasn’t as though she was going to be able to run after any of them.

 

“You have to be something,” Jacob insisted.

 

Bella was about to admonish him for pestering Carlisle, but he smiled. “I have to work on Halloween night.”

 

“You have to work?” Bella looked up at him, surprised. “Surgeons pull night shifts?”

 

“Halloween is always a busy time. I volunteer to work in the E.R. because I have Jasper to go with the kids.”

 

Rosalie clung to her father’s hand. “But I want you to take us.”

 

While Alice was having a blast with new people to show off for, Rosalie was less than pleased with her guests. She was polite as Jasper and Carlisle made her be, but she viewed Bella and Jacob as an unwelcome intrusion. Whenever Carlisle’s attention was on them, especially Jacob, she would suddenly need to show him something or be picked up.

 

Alice had scrambled ahead and she came back now with a full face mask nearly as big as she was. She struggled to get it over her head and dissolved into giggles when she succeeded. The sight of a truly terrifying mask shaking with little girl laughter was hilarious. Carlisle snapped a short video on his phone before he sent her to put it back.

 

“Look.” Jacob held out a pair of vampire fangs to Carlisle. “You put them in your mouth. You can wear that at the hospital.” He made the fangs bite. “See? You’ll be Doc Fang.”

 

Both Bella and Carlisle laughed at that. “Don’t you think it would scare my patients?”

 

Jacob put his hands on his hips. “They’d be wussies. You don’t scare me and I’m only three and a half.”

 

Carlisle ruffled his hair. “I’ll think about it.”

 

When they got to the prepackaged kids costumes, Rosalie let out a delighted squeal. She let go her father’s hand as she stared up at a section filled with princess dresses in every color.

 

“Daddy, can I get a big dress?” she asked.

 

“Whatever you want, Princess.”

 

“I want to be Thor, Mommy.” Jacob offered Bella the package and looked at her with big, hopeful eyes. “Please?”

 

Bella’s heart sank when she saw the price tag. “It’s a little out of our price range, bub.” The disability money she was getting wasn’t enough to keep up her apartment, let alone get a fancy costume. She wouldn’t have Jake missing out on Halloween altogether, but she had limits.

 

She saw Carlisle cast her an apologetic look, and she hated it. Jacob looked back at Rosalie with her fancy dress costume. His face fell, but he didn’t argue. Bella’s gut twisted. Her kid was so good, she wanted more than anything to give him everything. Still, it was only a Halloween costume. When Halloween came, he would be more excited about candy and less concerned about his costume.  “I still think you’d make a good dog.” She reached over to pluck a floppy eared headband from the rack and tried to put it on him. He ducked away. “You like dogs, Jake.”

 

By then, Alice had wandered over. “If you’re gonna be a doggy, I can be a kitty.” She picked up cat ears and put them on her head. “Look. I can wiggle my nose like a kitty.” She wrinkled her nose up a few times.

 

“That’s bunnies, dummy,” Rosalie said. “Ali, you should be a princess.”

 

“I don’t wanna be a princess. I wanna be a kitty.” She meowed in her sister’s face.

 

Rosalie frowned. “Well, I’m going to be a princess.”

 

Alice hummed and put a finger to her mouth. “I wanna be a kitty, but… can I be a kitty with a wand?”

 

Jacob brightened at that. “Me too. I want a wand.”

 

Carlisle took the wands from the kids. “These are my treat, if only because that’s a picture I need to see.”

 

Bella thought about protesting, but in the end, she nodded. “House pets with sparkling wands. Why didn’t I think of that?”

 

When they made it to the front with their purchases, Bella noticed Carlisle bought the vampire fangs too.

~0~

“You know, you’re not as pretty as my mommy.”

 

Bella looked up to see Rosalie standing in the doorway of her room, her arms crossed as she watched Bella sort through her makeup. “That’s probably true.” At not yet four, Bella doubted a ‘beauty is subjective’ lecture would get anywhere with Rosalie. “I’ve seen pictures of your mommy. I think she looked like a princess.”

 

Rosalie didn’t look like she knew what to do with Bella’s admission. She was about to turn away but then she noticed what Bella had spread out on her bed.

 

For the most part, Bella couldn’t be bothered with makeup. Still, she had a makeup bag for occasions like interviews and, rarer, dates. Rosalie was quite obviously interested, but she was playing it cool as usual. “What’s that?” She took a single step forward.

 

Bella had to hide her smile. “I’m trying to see if I have black eyeliner to make Jake and Alice’s whiskers. You know, since someone used all the face paint makeup for other purposes.” The kids had gotten into the face paint the day before. It was the only time Bella could remember all three of them had played together without an argument breaking out between them. They’d been a royal mess by the time they were done, but they were a happy mess.

 

“Oh.” Rosalie shuffled forward another couple steps. “Edward is here.”

 

“I know. He’s supposed to come in here and help me get into my wheelchair.” Bella was thinking of making a run for it herself. She could stand and walk for short periods of time, but if she did that, both Edward and Carlisle would yell at her. They kept trying to get her to realize if she would stop pushing herself, she would get better faster.

 

Step. Step. “Edward is dressed like a cowboy. Like Jasper.”

 

“Is that right?”

 

Rosalie put her hands on the bed, very close to the makeup, but didn’t touch it. Her eyes were gleaming like a treasure hunter who’d stumbled upon a room filled with gold. “Jasper said one of them should be the horse. And Edward said, ‘I bet you’d like that.’”

 

Bella sputtered. “Uh…” She shook her head. “Would you like me to do your makeup, Rosalie?”

 

The little girl looked up at her with wide eyes. “Really?”

 

“Sure. It’ll look good with your costume.” She patted the bed. “Sit.”

 

Rosalie did. Bella had to work to tamp down her grin. The little girl sat ramrod straight, impressive for such a small child. She tilted her head and pursed her lips when Bella asked. When she was done, Bella handed her the mirror and Rosalie’s look was absolutely gleeful. “I’m so pretty!”

 

“You’re always pretty, precious.”

 

The little girl beamed. “Imma show Ali.” She hopped off the bed and ran out the door only to run right back in. She scrambled up on the bed and kissed Bella’s cheek. “Thank you,” she said before she was running for her sister.

 

As was inevitable, Bella soon found herself with an audience. Alice demanded a makeover too, despite the fact it would interfere with her whiskers. Even Jacob decided a little sparkly blush never hurt anyone.

 

By then, Edward and Jasper were leaning in the doorway, watching her work. “Forget trick-or-treating. We’re taking this one clubbing.” Edward lifted Jacob to his hip.

 

Jacob scowled. “I don’t want to go to your club. I want candy.”

 

“Be nice to Edward, Jake.”

 

Edward held him up at arm’s length. “Let him sass me, Bella. I’ll take him to the big scary house at the end of the lane. You know the one I showed you.”

 

Jacob paled and held his hands out until Edward pulled him closer again. “Can we go trick-or-treating now? Please.”

 

Edward gave Bella a satisfied smirk. Shaking her head, Bella carefully got to her feet. She was somewhat surprised when both Alice and Rosalie ran to ‘help’.

 

“Rooking the kids, are you?” Edward teased as she settled into her wheelchair. “Good move.”

 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She blushed anyway.

~0~

There was a light on in the kitchen when Carlisle got home. Still, he went upstairs first. After the evening he’d had at the E.R. he needed to see with his own eyes his babies were still in one piece.

 

The girls hadn’t quite come down from their sugar high. They were drowsy and close to crashing but awake enough they could recount their night for him. After he’d collected his goodnight kisses and tucked them in, he went downstairs.

 

He expected to find Bella was the source of the light. He wasn’t expecting her to be peeling potatoes. “What are you doing?”

 

“I’m going to make you dinner tomorrow.” Her tone brokered no room for argument.

 

“I see. Is this the kind of meal that takes eighteen hours to prepare?”

 

She glanced up at him from under her eyelashes. A smirk played at her lips. “I’m just peeling the potatoes tonight and leaving the meat to marinate.”

 

“You really don’t need to go through all this trouble.”

 

“Yes, I do.” Bella huffed, and her hand got more aggressive as she peeled potatoes. “Jasper helps me with my kid. You and Edward help me get to appointments. This is the least I can do.” Her lips turned downward. “And if you want to know the truth, I needed the distraction. This calms me.”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“You don’t need to listen to me whine on top of everything you’re doing for me.”

 

“Bella.” He put his hand over hers. The touch seemed to shock her. She stopped peeling and looked up at him. “Have I misjudged the time we’ve spent together? We’re friends, aren’t we? Not out of obligation on either of our parts. Or am I just speaking for myself?” Carlisle was an academic. He could support his hypothesis with data gathered. She was fascinating. Strong and giving, patient and kind. She was beautifully flawed -- the grown incarnation of a child who’d gotten in over her head but had done the best she could with it.

 

Bella flipped her hand so her fingers brushed the undersides of his wrists. Her eyes gentled. “We’re friends.”

 

“Then let’s try this again. What’s wrong?”

 

She picked up her potato again and started peeling. “I haven’t been able to pay my rent. I’m looking for a job that doesn’t require being on my feet so I can start working sooner, but it’s slow going. I’m scared I’ll lose the apartment.”

 

“I wish…” Carlisle shook his head. He wished she would let him help, but he understood why that was an uncomfortable idea to her. “I’ll ask around. There might be clerical positions open at the hospital.”

 

She looked at him warningly and brandished the peeler at him. “Don’t do anything silly.”

 

His lips quirked. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

 

Bella shook her head and picked up a knife. Carlisle watched as she began cutting thin slices of potatoes. “You aren’t useless,” he said as he watched the steady rhythm of her hand. “You know Rosalie is your new biggest fan after tonight?”

 

“Really?”

 

“She was barely awake, but she must have said your name about a hundred times.” He tapped the table as he tried to find the right words. “You know, I don’t believe in socializing little girls to be a certain way and little boys to be another way. I ache knowing my girls won’t ever know their mother, but I don’t feel like I’m failing them because I can never teach them how to be women.

 

“That being said, there are things I can’t give them even if they want them. I didn’t realize the picture of her mother Rosalie likes the most is the same one where it’s obvious Esme has makeup on. Her lips are more red. She has eyeshadow and mascara.” He smiled at Bella, brushing her arm with the tips of his fingers. “You’re a lot like her in that way. Esme was never inclined to wear makeup on day to day basis. She would have known Rose might be interested though. That’s what she said. She said you made her look pretty like her mother.”

 

Bella raised an eyebrow. “You’re saying I’m not useless because I know how to do my makeup when I want to?”

 

“I’m saying you gave something to my girls I didn’t know they were missing. You’ve been good to them, understanding with Rosalie when she didn’t always deserve it, and a good friend to me. Those are priceless and rare things to me.”

 

She raised her head and a strange look came over her eyes. The room buzzed with an electricity that hadn’t been there only a moment before, and Carlisle’s breath caught.

 

And then, Bella’s face pinched. She gasped. “Shit!”

 

Carlisle looked down to see she’d cut her hand. Badly. He was up out of his seat in a flash and over to her. She’d already pushed herself up, so he put his arm around her to steady her and grabbed her around the wrist. He helped her hobble as far as the sink and grabbed the clean dish towel hanging there. Bella hissed when he clamped his other hand down hard against the wound. “I know. I’m sorry.”

 

Bella groaned and leaned against him. To his surprise, she turned her head against his neck.

 

“Are you feeling faint?” he asked. He frowned as he watched the towel turn red from blood quicker than he would have liked.

 

“A little.” Her words were muffled against his skin. Her breath tickled. “It’s the blood. Never been good with blood.”

 

Carlisle readjusted his grip to put a clean side of the cloth to her cut. After another minute, he pulled the cloth away to study the wound. “This is deep, Bella. I think this needs stitching.”

 

“No. No, no. I’ll be fine. I don’t want to go to the hospital.”

 

“But-”

 

“It will close eventually, right? I get that it’ll scar, but it’ll close eventually.”

 

“Bella…”

 

She took a deep breath and lifted her head from his neck. Her eyes were pleading. “Please. I know it’s not a big deal. It’s not that. I’m not a baby. But I have no insurance, and I have enough bills.” There were tears in her eyes which she wiped away with a growl. “I’m sorry. I cry when I’m frustrated, and I just.. I need a break. I need just one break.”

 

“Shhh. Bella, calm down. It’s okay.”

 

She ducked her head. “I’m sorry,” she said again.

 

“Don’t be sorry. You’re under too much stress.” He sighed, debating with himself. “It’s not the most ethical thing… but if you refuse to go to a hospital, I’d rather you let me stitch you up here than leave the wound open.”

 

She raised her head to look at him with watery eyes. “You’d do that?”

 

“You’d have to promise not to sue me.” He winked so she would know he was teasing and was rewarded when she smiled back.

 

“You’re so trusting.”

 

“Okay.” He released her wrist so he could take her free hand. “Hold here.” He wrapped her good hand around her bad. “Hold tight, okay?”

 

She nodded, and did as she was told.

 

“Good. Now I’m going to pick you up. All my things are in my bathroom, and the lights are brighter there. We need to clean out the wound as quickly as possible.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Carlisle pretended to be shocked. “What? No argument?” He lifted her up into his arms and started for the stairs.

 

“Shut up, Cullen. I’m trying to be a good patient here. I want my lollipop.”

 

“Well, if you’re good, we’ll raid the kids’ candy supply.”

 

In the bathroom, he settled her on the counter and hurried about, getting what he needed. He murmured comforting words as he cleaned and disinfected the wound, but true to her claim, she was a good patient. She let him adjust her until they found a position where she could keep her hand steady and still in the light. As he began stitching, she leaned her head on his shoulder, breathing deep for just a handful of seconds before she raised her head again.

 

“You going to be okay?” he asked, keeping his eyes concentrated on her hand.

 

“Yeah. Just dizzy. I’m sorry. You must have been doing this all night just to have to come home and do it here.”

 

She was so close, he could feel her breath against his cheek as he worked, her bulky cast brushed his ankle. “It’s not a problem. This is one of the tamer injuries I’ve seen tonight.”

 

“I’ll bet. Ugh. I can’t believe I did this. You’re supposed to look when you’re wielding a very sharp knife. See, though? I told you I could hurt myself just fine on my own. No need to be guilty.”

 

Carlisle looked up at her briefly. “This will be two, maybe three stitches. You were in a coma.”

 

“Obviously you’re an overachiever. What?” she asked when he laughed.

 

He shook his head, making the last stitch and cutting the thread. “It’s just such a unique perspective. Rationally I understand why you’re not angry at me, but it’s natural to at least be annoyed.” He soaked a cotton ball in disinfectant and wiped it over her skin. “I tripped. Everything you’re stressed about, every problem you have you wouldn’t if it weren’t for me.”

 

“Well, your method sucks, I’ll admit, but I’m too glad we met to be angry.”

 

Carlisle sucked in a breath as he raised his eyes to hers.

 

She was startlingly close. When her cheeks flushed, he could have sworn he could feel the heat. She ducked her head. “I mean… yeah. I’m glad I know you.”

 

He pressed a finger underneath her chin, lifting her head up. His only intention was to tell her the feeling was mutual, he was so glad to know her, but he was distracted by the color of her eyes. Her pretty face, so close to his. Her lips.

 

He brushed her mouth in the barest hint of a kiss before his breath stuttered. He took a step backward. “I’m sorry, I--”

 

She fisted her good hand in his shirt and pulled him forward again, bringing her mouth to his. Their kiss was fevered, but only for a moment. Carlisle spread his hands over her back, closing his eyes as he stepped between her legs. Thoughts zinged around his head a mile a minute, but none of them stuck. When he felt her foot against the back of his thigh, he gave up trying to think. Instead, he concentrated on the way her lips moved with his, stealing his breath. He concentrated on the feel of her body under her simple cotton shirt and her chest pressed against him. She’d wrapped her arms around his neck and her good leg around his waist. Carlisle shivered. It had been a long time since anything had felt this good.

 

Gasping for breath, Carlisle broke their kiss. He leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry,” he said between pants, though he didn’t quite know why he said it.

 

She swallowed audibly. “Are you?” She was just as breathless as he was.

 

Carlisle considered her question. “No.” He expected to feel guilty. The last person he’d kissed at all was his wife, but while he ached thinking of Esme, he didn’t have room in his chest for guilt. There was a giddy, happy emotion welling in him that simply took too much room.

  
Bella straightened up and smiled at him. “Good,” she said and kissed him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: *grumble grumble grumble*


	6. All In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay. Are we ready for more making out? Too bad. They’re going to talk. Fuck being a responsible adult, amirite?

“Can I ask you a question?”

 

It was lunchtime the day after Halloween. Bella had an appointment at the hospital, so she and Carlisle were having lunch. The atmosphere between them was awkward but not so terrible. They were on uncertain ground, that was all, but she didn’t think either of them were regretting what had happened the night before.

 

Carlisle looked up from his sandwich. “Of course.”

 

Bella chewed, arranging and rearranging her thoughts. She knew nothing about how to start things like this. “After we kissed, when you said you were sorry, why did you think you were sorry?”

 

His cheek twitched, and he put his sandwich down. “It was unethical. I was treating you. I shouldn’t have kissed you when I was treating you. If I had done that to one of my patients, I could rightly lose my medical license.”

 

“It was a few stitches, not a medical diagnosis. Besides, you only kissed me after you treated me.”

 

“Hence why I came to the conclusion I was not actually sorry.”

 

Bella was silent for another few seconds as she gathered the courage to ask the next question. It was difficult to swallow around the sudden lump that arose in her throat. “Is there anything else that would have made you sorry?”

 

His eyes held hers. “Are you asking me about my wife or my girls?”

 

Bella’s heart skipped a beat. Nerves made her stomach twist. She pushed her plate away. “Either. Both.” There was an ache inside her, a yearning for something she didn’t know how to want. What was the protocol here? Was it right of her, a former teenage mother who had no experience with relationships of any kind, to want something with him?

 

Carlisle looked away as he gathered his thoughts. “I…” He turned back to her and reached across the table. His touch was tentative, but he rested his hand over hers. His fingertips brushed her wrists. “When I fell in love with Esme, the idea I would ever kiss another woman was abhorrent. Every fiber of my being was programmed to be disgusted with the thought.” He kept his head tilted down, looking at their hands. “When she died, I couldn’t fathom the idea of moving on. If I hadn’t had my girls…”

 

He shook his head and looked up at her. “When I knew I wanted to kiss you, it felt like a betrayal. But when we did kiss…” His lips turned up and he wrapped his fingers around hers. “I realized I didn’t feel guilty. Esme was right. She told me I would be with someone again, that I would have something other than what we had. She told me it wasn’t a betrayal because it wouldn’t be the same. And she’s right. It’s not. It’s not the same at all.” He let his fingers drift up her arm. The soft stroke sent shivers down her spine, and his expression became more intimate. “It’s very different, but it’s also very good. It feels right.”

 

The corners of Bella’s mouth tugged up of their own volition as a giddy feeling rose in her. She wanted to act the fool. She had the urge to run to him and throw herself down in his lap, but that was silly. Not only would it make her look like she was at least five years younger, but she was more likely to trip over her brand new walking cast as anything else. There were easier ways to get another kiss from him than injuring herself, she suspected.

 

She reminded herself there were other things they needed to talk about. “And your girls?”

 

“I want my girls to understand they have my unconditional love and support to pursue whatever and whomever makes them happy. I also believe the best way to teach them that is by example. They know I love them and that I will always love their mother.” His fingers slipped beneath the arm of her shirt, and though the touch was innocent, it was also titillating. “It made me very happy to kiss you. You make me very happy.”

 

He cleared his throat and drew his hand back. “But what about you? Your son?”

 

Bella crossed her arms over her chest, already missing his touch. “My son.” She tapped her good leg up and down on the linoleum floor. “I’m not sorry you kissed me or that I kissed you back.”

 

Carlisle’s expression became cautious. “But?”

 

“But… Since last night, all I can think about is how much I want to touch you.” Her cheeks flamed, but she pressed on. “I replay those kisses over and over again, but don’t I have so much else to think about? Where is my son going to sleep in a few weeks when I’m well enough to go back to work and I’m months behind on my rent? What’s he going to eat? It seems like those should be the only things I’m thinking about.”

 

To her great surprise, he snorted. She looked up, her eyes wide with hurt. He waved a hand and covered his mouth. “I’m sorry. I’m very sorry. That was not the reaction I was going for.” He pressed his lips together and looked up at her with a smile. “It’s just that the idea you’re going to stop taking care of your son because you’d be too busy thinking about me kissing you all the time is completely ludicrous. You are a much better mother than that, Bella.

 

“I think you know me well enough by now that regardless of what may or may not be happening between us, the fact I care about you and Jacob is beyond dispute. You have support. You have me and Edward, of course. You don’t have to worry about being homeless, if that’s your concern.”

 

Tears pricked at her eyes and she stared down at the table, willing herself to find calm. She had been trying for what felt like most of her life to find stable ground for herself and Jake. “I know that. As my friend, that’s appreciated, but if-- and maybe I’m making a huge assumption here-- if this is going to turn into something more than friendship, it can’t start with you saving me from my life.”

 

Carlisle blinked.

 

“I’m sorry. That’s…Jesus.” Bella slumped forward, her elbows on the table and her head in her hands. “God this is what they mean by clingy women, isn’t it? I’m sorry, I-”

 

“Bella.” She felt his hands on hers, trying to pry her fingers away from her face. “We have children. Very young children and complicated lives. Being frank is actually preferable.”

 

She peeked out from behind her fingers. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like you were trying to get me to move in or something.”

 

He smirked. “Well, point of fact, that was what I was trying to get at. You’re welcome to stay. Without expectation.”

 

Bella was already shaking her head. “And that’s what I’m saying. I can’t. If you’re interested in seeing where this goes,” she gestured between them, “I really can’t.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you? Interested, I mean.”

 

“Without a doubt.” He answered so quickly, Bella had to grin.

 

She nodded. “Good. That’s… really, really good.” She took a deep breath. “So I’m moving back to my apartment. Today, probably.”

 

The look of shock on his face was priceless. “Bella, you shouldn’t-”

 

“I have this thing now.” She bumped the side of her walking cast. “There’s no reason I can’t get up and down the stairs of my apartment. I have more energy. I’m almost healed.”

 

“I’m speaking as a doctor right now, okay? It really is more ideal for you to take it easy for just a while longer. You’re healing, but you’re not healed. You’d have less chance for long term side effects if you rest.”

 

“It’s more ideal, I agree, but that’s life. I can’t afford more ideal. And before you say what I know you’re about to say, I know I can stay with you. I’ve already taken too much, and I haven’t given enough. Let’s get back to more equal footing before we start something.”

 

He didn’t look happy. He rubbed his hand over his chin, looking at her with a displeased expression that softened after a moment. “You think we’re on uneven ground because I’ve had more time to get my life together, am I right?”

 

“My life is one step away from being completely obliterated by a single disaster, Carlisle.”

 

“The same can be said of anyone’s life. That wasn’t the question I asked.”

 

She sighed. “I think I have nothing to offer, plain and simple.”

 

“Well, that’s not true, but let’s talk about what I do have versus what you don’t. I realize I have a steady job.  And yes, I worked my ass off to get where I am, but not without help. Not without Esme. It was her money that allowed me to go to medical school. The house I live in, far too big for me and the girls, was in her family for years.”

 

It was Bella’s turn then to be shocked.

 

Carlisle studied her face. “It doesn’t change anything, does it?”

 

“Maybe if we were an established couple it would.” She traced idle designs against the tabletop with her fingertip. “The thing is, I have no clue what I’m doing. I’m going to fuck up. So are you. We need the space to do that, I think. We need the wiggle room.”

 

He laughed again. “For the record, if you’re ever worried you come off as immature compared to me, just know that is a ridiculous thought.” He stood and stepped to her side. He helped her to her feet, wrapping an arm around her. “So we’re doing this, then.”

 

Bella felt dizzy being so close to him, being able to hold him like this. “I’m in if you’re in.”

  
He cupped her cheek and stroked her skin with his thumb. As they were in the middle of a crowded hospital cafeteria, his kiss was chaste, but his eyes when he pulled back glinted with a deep happiness. “Yes, Bella. I’m in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Let us take this moment to admire Mina’s banner making skills. PRETTTTTTEH.  
> It's posted at the header of chapter 1: http://archiveofourown.org/works/1007444/chapters/1997923


	7. First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I suppose I promised you some making out. How are my non-canon virgins doing? *holds your hand*

Semantics were a funny thing, Carlisle reflected. He remembered thinking he was a pervert as he watched Bella’s ass as she ran. He remembered thinking she had to be young and he had no business looking at her like that.

 

She was young. If things had been different, if she had the life a twenty-one year old woman should have -- college parties and minimal responsibility -- would he have ever let himself think about being with her?

 

He walked behind her as she made the arduous journey up the steps to her apartment. He was still distracted by her pert ass, but he was more concerned with the idea she was going to fall on the steep steps. Why couldn’t her apartment have had an elevator? Then again, if she could afford an apartment with an elevator, he supposed she never would have had to accept his offer of help, and then where would they be?

 

Semantics.

 

Still, he did wish she would let him help with more than carrying her groceries upstairs.

 

“You’re a pervert, Carlisle Cullen.”

 

Carlisle jumped and flushed. He glanced over his shoulder and glared at Edward who only gave him an innocent smile. He pushed by Carlisle and overtook Bella. He swept her up and carried her the rest of the way up the stairs even as she yelled at him.

 

“Edward Masen. Don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing.” She gave him a shove that was more playful than anything else, even though she was glaring at him. “I’m not going to fall down the stairs.”

 

“Bella, you’ve tumbled down those stairs when you didn’t have a bulky cast on.”

 

She frowned. “That was once, and I just missed the bottom step. Everyone misses the bottom step once in awhile.”

 

“Hush, Swan. I picked you up because you’re too damn slow. I wanted to get in the house before the end of time.”

 

“You suck.”

 

“I did last night, but Jasper didn’t have any complaints.” He turned to wink at Carlisle.

 

Bella shook her head and stepped to Carlisle’s side. She wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned in close. “See, now we have to make this work.” She lay her free hand over his chest. “If our friends hook up, it would get all awkward if we don’t work out.”

 

Carlisle tsked. “The pressure.” He leaned to press a kiss against her hair, happy that he could. He glanced at Edward as he did, half expecting to see the other man’s disapproval, but Bella’s best friend only smiled.

 

“What are you doing here anyway, Edward? You didn’t tell me you were coming over.” Bella asked. She disentangled herself from Carlisle’s embrace, but she kept her hand in his as she hobbled in the direction of the kitchen.

 

“I am helping you celebrate your first day at a new job, a better job. Which you deserve.” He began to clear off the counter and put groceries away. When she moved to help him, he held out a hand. “No. You’re going to relax. I’m going to make you and Carlisle dinner, and then I’m going to go help Jasper take care of the kids tonight.”

 

“Edward-” Bella began to protest, but again he held his hand up.

 

“You’ve been home for what, two weeks? You know I’m all for this dating thing, honey, but the caveat there is you actually have to date.” He shook his head, his expression indulgent. “Now go sit down on the couch or your room if you want more privacy. I’ll be done and out of your hair asap.”

 

Bella gave an exasperated sigh as she turned toward Carlisle. “You’re both monsters.”

 

“What did I do?” Carlisle asked, perplexed.

 

“Don’t give me that innocent look like you’re not the one who lined up this job for me. A hospital job. At your hospital.”

 

“I didn’t line up anything. It’s hardly my fault they had an opening.”

 

“And you didn’t put in a good word for me.”

 

“Of course I put in a good word for you, but at the end of the day, what does that mean? You still had to ace the interview, which you did. You still have to do the job right.” He crossed his arms, fixing her with a stern expression. She wasn’t the only one who could be stubborn when she wanted. “Don’t ask me to feel bad that we found this job before you had to go back to a much more strenuous one.”

 

She sighed and took his hand again. “I took the job, didn’t I?” She tugged him over to the living room and they both sat on the couch. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come off as unappreciative.” She tucked herself against his side and hid her head. “You intimidate me, that’s all.”

 

“I intimidate you?” Carlisle found her hand and traced her fingers with his.

 

“I know I do the best I can. I’m proud of myself, Carlisle. I’m proud of how far I’ve come with so little.” Her shoulders trembled as she took a shuddering breath. “But I see the way people look at me when they see me with my son. I know I look even younger than I am, and that makes it worse.” She took his hand and began to play with his fingers. “At the hospital today, I heard the nurses talking about you. You sound so… good, you know? So together. An accomplished surgeon, a philanthropist, a single father.”

 

He ran his hands through her hair and sighed. “People see what they want to see, Bella. I’m not as put together as they want to believe, and I’m far from perfect. I already told you, Esme and her money are the only reason I got through medical school -- the one and only reason. And before that, I’ll have you know, I almost failed out of college.”

 

She lifted her head. “What?”

 

“It was all very cliche. First time away from a strict father. I partied too hard and didn’t go to class often enough. It was a teacher who saved me. A professor who worked with me to get back on track before it was too late.” His stomach twisted and he frowned. “And as for the single father…” He swallowed hard, still hating himself for what he’d done. “Bella, after Esme died, I was a complete wreck. I… I neglected the girls.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

He closed his eyes and shook his head, afraid that what he was about to tell her would change the way she looked at him. “When I stopped answering my phone, a friend of mine, Eleazar, knocked on the door. When I didn’t come to the door and he found it open, he came in. He found…” Carlisle took a deep breath. “The girls had been in the same dirty diapers for who knows how long. They were hungry and dirty. The house was a mess.” He pulled away from her, wrapping his arms around his torso. “The girls were barely six months old.”

 

To his surprise, she only scooted closer to him. She brushed gentle fingertips over his cheek. “What happened?”

 

“I was lucky. I was lucky it was him. He got the girls cleaned and fed. He arranged for someone to take care of them until he got some sense into me. Then he helped me find Jasper. I got my act together before I killed my kids, and I started doing charity work because I needed the distraction.” He bowed his head and swallowed hard again. “So that’s the real Carlisle Cullen.”

 

“No, it isn’t.” She moved closer to him, hooking her good leg over his lap. “Thank you for telling me that. I know it couldn’t have been easy.”

 

He let his hand rest on her thigh and chanced a look up at her. He was shocked at what he found. “You’re still looking at me.”

 

Confusion flitted across her features. “Why wouldn’t I be able to look at you?”

 

“Eleazar couldn’t. After that, he never looked at me the same again. Neglect is abuse, Bella. I abused my children.”

 

“You’re a good father who made a mistake. You’re human. You’re a good man.” She reached out to stroke her fingers along his chin, his cheeks.

 

That she could stand to touch him after his confession did more to heal that old wound than any amount of charity ever had. A tear welled and fell from the corner of his eye before he could stop it. Embarrassed, he ducked his head and wiped at his eye. “I’m sorry.” He tried to pull away, but she didn’t let him. She caught his face between her hands. The compassion written all over her features hurt. He cringed, but she kissed his cheeks anyway. She kissed the bridge of his nose. She kissed him as though she could kiss away his guilt.

 

His breath was ragged. He closed his eyes, unable to look at her. Vulnerability was not an emotion Carlisle was comfortable with. His father had beaten it out of him when he was a boy. He’d learned to have control over himself, unwavering control. His control rarely broke, and any time it did, it felt as though the world was ending.

 

Carlisle wrapped his arms around her, simultaneously pulling her close to him and pushing her back on the couch. To that point, he’d only ever been gentle with her. Now he was rough, his kisses demanding. She gasped into his mouth, but her lips responded to his. She held him just as tightly. Her fingers dug into his back even through his shirt.

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”

 

Carlisle sat up at the sound of Edward’s voice. He looked between the younger man and Bella. Edward looked like he was barely holding back laughter. Bella was laying back on the couch -- her face was flushed hectic shades of pink, her eyes were hooded, her hair was a wreck. Carlisle licked his lips and offered his hand to pull her upright. “I’m sorry,” he said to Edward. “I forgot you were here.”

 

“Clearly.” He chuckled as he shrugged on his jacket. “I just came to tell you dinner is done when the oven dings. So if you’ll hold off the ravishment until 1) I’m far, far away and 2) you’ll be sure not to burn the house down, I’ll get out of your hair.”

 

“Thank you, Edward,” Bella said. She was still breathless.

 

He walked over to them and kissed Bella on the cheek. “Be good but not too good.” He turned to Carlisle and pointed to him. “It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, so I haven’t had a chance to tell you. I may take another man to my bed, but this girl is the other half of my soul. Be good to her.”

 

Bella groaned. “God, Edward, be more embarrassing, please.”

 

Edward grinned, still looking at Carlisle. “She’s about to tell me she’s a big girl and she can take care of herself.”

 

Bella crossed her arms. “Well, I am.”

 

“What’d I tell you? Soulmates, her and me.” Edward leaned forward and kissed Carlisle’s cheek as he had Bella’s. “Condoms are in the nightstand.” He waved and was gone.

 

Carlisle slumped where he sat as soon as the door closed. “God. I’m so sorry.”

 

“For what?”

 

“I shouldn’t have attacked you like that.”

 

“Carlisle.” She touched his shoulder. “I’m fine. Christ, you make it sound like you hit me or something.”

 

He rubbed the back of his neck as he straightened up. “Sorry. I typically have more self-control, that’s all.”

 

She tilted her head, studying him for a long moment. “You don’t have to be in constant control, you know. You’re human. You’re allowed to lose control.”

 

Carlisle had to smile. “Esme used to tell me the same thing.”

 

“Well, I guess you have a type.”

 

He hummed and drew his fingers down her neck. “Smart. Beautiful. Kind. I suppose I do.” He cupped her cheek and pressed his thumb to her lips. “But I still didn’t intend to kiss you like that. It wasn’t a first date type of kiss.”

 

She wrapped her arms around his neck . “Compromise then. How about a fifth date type of kiss?”

 

He pulled her closer again and nuzzled her cheek with his nose. “Fifth date. Well, a fifth date kiss is very subjective. Maybe you should tell me what a fifth date kiss entails.”

 

She took his hand and, after a moment’s hesitation, pressed it over her breast. Carlisle’s breath caught. He could feel her heart beat. She was nervous. Her body was soft and amazing beneath his palm. He shaped his hand to the curve of her breast and leaned in to kiss her.

 

Fifth date kisses turned out to be quite thorough. For minutes, Carlisle got lost in touch and taste. Feeling her over her clothes was quickly not enough. He slipped his hands underneath her shirt to caress her warm skin. He felt like a schoolboy again, like everything was new. It had been a long time since he’d touched a woman for the first time, and he hadn’t had all that much practice before that. He’d almost forgotten what it was like to be intimate like this with another person. He’d almost forgotten how the tiny noises she made could be just as stimulating as her fingers skimming over his abs.

 

Neither of them was in any kind of rush. Their tongues and fingers teased and tempted. Every nerve ending in Carlisle’s body tingled, as though awaking from sleep.

 

When the oven dinged, they both jumped, and Carlisle groaned. By that time, they were as tangled as Bella’s broken leg allowed. The jolt of her body rubbed him the right way and turned his mind to anything but slow.

 

Bella kissed his forehead. “We promised not to let dinner burn.”

 

“I suppose we did.”

  
They still found time for a trio of long, slow kisses before Carlisle helped Bella to her feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Making out with a little bit of drama mixed in. I suppose you’ll want them to have sex next, huh? GAWD. You’re SO DEMANDING.


	8. No Cbutt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So about here is where Barburella started whining about the Cbutt. My entire doc is filled with CBUTT. Where izit? Then even Songster was like rawr, Cbutt. They’re butt whores.

“Why do we go to Alice ‘n Rose’s house all the time?” Jacob asked from the backseat.

 

Bella bit the inside of her cheek. “It’s nice to have friends, isn’t it?”

 

“I guess. Rose is stupid, though.”

 

“Jacob. Was that nice?”

 

“No. But she’s not nice, Mommy. She’s very mean.”

 

“That doesn’t mean you should be mean.”

 

He giggled. “Mommy, you rhymed.”

 

“I’m clever that way.” She sighed. “Be patient with Rosalie, bub. I know she makes it hard sometimes.”

 

“Me and Alice was playing house the other day, and she said I had to be the dog because that’s what I was for Halloween.”

 

“You liked being a dog.”

 

“Yeah. So I bit her on the leg!”

 

“Jacob!”

 

“What?” He gave her an innocent look. “It wasn’t that hard. She hit me on the nose and then she said I could be the gard...gard… guy who cuts all the plants up instead.”

 

Bella sighed. “The gardener?”

  
“Does they have a garder because they have their own back yard? If we had a backyard, would we have a garder?”

 

“Maybe. Not everyone has a gardener even if they have a lawn.”

 

“Oh.” He drummed on the edge of his carseat for a few minutes before he spoke again. “Hey, Mommy?”

 

“Yes, Jacob?”

 

“Alice ‘n Rose have some more things than me, but they don’t have a mommy. That makes me sad for them.”

 

Tears sprung to Bella’s eyes and she smiled. “Hey, Jakey. You’re my number one guy, you know that?”

 

His grin was huge. “Duh, Mommy.”

~0~

They were being discreet around the kids. While Bella had been on a date or two since Jacob’s birth, she had never brought anyone home. Carlisle had simply not dated at all. They were both out of their depth when it came to gauging how the kids, none of whom had ever seen their parent in a loving relationship, would react.

 

It happened all at once. The kids were, for once, all playing nice, spread out on the floor with blocks and a drawing pad and dolls. They were engrossed with their toys and the movie. Bit by bit, Bella and Carlisle scooted closer together on the couch. Bella left her hand palm up on the couch. When she felt his fingertips skim over her arm, Bella shivered and smiled. She rested her hand on his thigh. It was an innocent gesture. She didn’t try to push any boundaries they hadn’t crossed yet, especially with the kids there. Eventually, his fingers found hers and twined together.

 

And of course, as though Jake had a hidden sensor, he sat up and his eyes went right to their joined hands. Bella held her breath.

 

“Why are you doing that?” Jake asked, crawling over to them.

 

That caught Alice and Rosalie’s attention. Bella tightened her fingers around Carlisle’s. She fought the urge to pull back.

 

Why were three staring almost-four-year-olds so terrifying?

 

“Why are we doing what?” Carlisle asked in an unassuming tone.

 

“Holding hands. We’re not crossing the street.” He eyed Carlisle suspiciously. “Jasper holds Edward’s hand, and Edward said Jasper is his boyfriend.”

 

“Na-uh, dummy. Jasper kisses Edward too. That’s what makes them boyfriends.” Rosalie climbed up on the couch, squeezing herself into the limited space between Bella and Carlisle, making them let go. She looked to Carlisle. “Right, Daddy?”

 

Carlisle cleared his throat. “Well, I kiss Bella, too.”

 

“Like a girlfriend?” Alice asked. She looked at Bella. “Are you Daddy’s girlfriend now?”

 

“What would you think if I was?”

 

Alice brightened. “Would you and Jake come live with us again?”

 

“No!” Jake and Rosalie said at the same time. Rosalie appeared to be trying to burrow into Carlisle’s side.

 

Jake ducked his head. “I just like our house, that’s all.”

 

“We’re not moving in here,” Bella said, reaching out to caress his hair.

 

“But why do you need a girlfriend, Daddy?” Rosalie’s voice was so muffled against her father’s side, Bella almost didn’t understand her.

 

“Bella makes me happy,” Carlisle said. He glanced at Bella and lifted his hand to brush her cheek.

 

“But why?” Rosalie asked.

 

Alice clambered up on the couch and onto Bella’s lap. “If you were Daddy’s girlfriend, you could be my second best friend. Jasper is my first best friend, but you could be my second. And Jacob could be my third.”

 

“What about me?” Rosalie asked, raising her head to stare at her sister indignantly.

 

Alice launched herself onto Rose, throwing her arms around her neck as she did. “You’re my sister. That’s more better than best friends.”

 

“Oh,” Rosalie said, appeased. She hugged her sister back.

 

“Jake. What do you think, bub?” Bella asked.

 

Jake shrugged. “S’okay, I guess. Can you rewind? We missed that whole part.”

 

They settled down then with the girls between Bella and Carlisle and Jake on Bella’s other side. Rosalie was clingy with Carlisle, but Jake and Alice went right back to playing, albeit from the couch instead of the floor. Carlisle’s hand found its way to Bella’s neck, and he played at her nape with his fingertips, sending wonderful shivers down her spine while they watched the rest of the movie.

 

When it was time to say goodnight, Rosalie refused to let her father put her down, but she didn’t say anything when he kissed Bella goodnight.

~0~

“Mommy?” Jacob said as Bella tucked him in that night.

 

“What’s up, bub?”

 

“Am I still your number one guy?” His eyes were so huge and sad, Bella was taken aback.

 

“Jakey.” She ran her hands through his hair. “Of course you’re my number one guy. Always.”

 

“But if you have a boyfriend, how can I be your number one guy?”

 

Bella sighed and laid down in Jake’s bed, curling herself around him as much as her bum leg would allow. He cuddled close to her, burying his head at her neck. She stroked his hair. “Jacob, you’re my baby. It’s a whole other category, you know? It’s like.. there’s you, and there’s everyone else. Maybe Carlisle will be my favorite person of everyone else, but you’re numero uno.”

 

“He makes you happy the way you make him happy?” Jake asked.

 

“Yes, but it’s not the same kind of happy you make me. That’s all you. You’re my sunshine.”

 

He peered up at her. “I like you being happy, Mommy.”

 

She gave him a big Mommy smooch. “I love you, bub.”

 

“Love you, too.”

~0~

Carlisle chuckled when Bella called to tell him about her conversation with Jacob that evening.

 

“So how were the girls? Did they have any more questions?” Bella asked.

 

Carlisle pursed his lips and looked over to the typically empty side of the bed that was currently occupied by his two children. Rosalie had stayed in her bed for only five minutes before she insisted she needed to sleep in with him. Alice had followed not because she was needy for her daddy, but because she didn’t want to be away from her sister. As a result, he was whispering into his phone as he spoke to Bella. “She asked me a few hundred times if I loved her and Alice still.”

 

“Ouch. I’m sorry.”

 

“It stings, but it’s survivable.” Carlisle ran his fingers through Rosalie’s golden hair, checking to make sure she was really asleep. “Rose has a flair for the dramatic.”

 

Bella sighed. “I think we’ve made some headway since Halloween, but sometimes I think she’s going to hate me.”

 

“She doesn’t hate you. Rose has always been more protective of our family unit, that’s all. Sometimes I wonder just how much she feels her mother’s loss, you know? She acts that way sometimes, like she’s afraid of losing me or Alice or even Jasper. She’ll get used to it.”

 

He traced his fingers along Rosalie’s chubby cheek. “Is it strange to say I miss you?”

 

“No. I don’t think it’s strange. It’s the honeymoon period of our relationship. Right now, you can’t get enough of me.” Her tone was teasing, but he read between the lines easily enough.

 

He wanted to reply that he hadn’t had enough of her, but he didn’t want to push. They were both trying to wrap their heads around what they were doing.

 

Besides, it wouldn’t be prudent to get himself worked up with his kids in bed.

 

“You’re awfully quiet over there,” Bella said.

 

“I’m sorry. I was just thinking.”

 

“About?”

 

“It’s hard to find time to be alone with three kids between us.”

 

She laughed. “Complicated. We should figure it out soon, though.”

 

“Should we?”

 

“Yeah. See, my boyfriend’s hella hot. I’d like to get me some of that.”

 

Carlisle’s breath left him in a huff. He closed his eyes. So much for not getting worked up.

 

“I’m sorry, Carlisle. I… If you don’t want…”

 

“No.” Carlisle said the word a little too loud. Alice stirred. She blinked at him but closed her eyes again in the next second. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” Sometimes he forgot exactly how new all of this was to her. She wasn’t always as confident as she played. “I, erm… the idea rendered me temporarily speechless.”

 

“Oh.” She sounded pleased. “You want to… um?”

 

He had to swallow a groan. “I think that’s a foregone conclusion.”

 

“Really? Since when?”

 

“Honestly?”

 

“Preferably.”

 

“Since I saw you running in front of me.”

 

“Really?”

 

“What can I say? You have a very nice ass.”

 

“Wow. That’s so scandalous coming from you.”

 

He covered his mouth to muffle his chuckle. “How exactly do you see me?”

 

“I don’t know. Virtuous? I like this thought. It’s hot.”

 

“I’m just a man, Bella.”

 

“Yeah… You know, I’m getting my cast off on Friday.” He didn’t miss the suggestive lilt to her voice.

 

“Well, that definitely calls for a celebration.”

~0~

 

“You really don’t have to be here for this.”

 

Carlisle pointed at himself. “Supportive boyfriend. I don’t get to play this role very often. I’m always the one doing the poking and prodding.”

 

“We can talk later about what kind of poking and prodding you can do,” she muttered. Her face flushed bright red, but before he could respond, her doctor came in.

 

“Hello, Miss Swan, I… Oh. Hello, Dr. Cullen.”

 

Carlisle offered his hand. “Dr. Snow.”

 

“You here to observe?”

 

“In a manner of speaking.” He took Bella’s hand. “Bella and saws don’t strike me as a good combination, so I’m supervising. Her, not you.”

 

“Hey,” Bella protested.

 

He leaned down to kiss her forehead.

 

Dr. Snow raised an eyebrow at Carlisle, but he smiled. “Well, let’s get this thing off you then, hmm?”

 

While Dr. Snow got her cast off, Carlisle did as he’d promised. He held Bella’s hand. When she got tense, he slipped his arm around her shoulders.

 

He tried not to space out. The noise of the saw helped keep him grounded. His memories kept trying to pull him back to the other times he sat beside a woman he loved, holding her hand while another doctor had their say. It was different. It was very different. With Esme, he’d sat like this when they were trying to figure out why they were having a difficult time conceiving; when she received the simultaneous news that she was pregnant and dying; when the girls were born, and when she died.

 

It was very different.

 

Carlisle realized belatedly that he’d thought about all the times he sat by the side of a woman he loved. He blinked, startled. He knew he cared for Bella, more than he’d cared about anyone outside his children in a long time, but love?

 

Already?

 

“There now. All done,” Dr. Snow said, bringing him back to the present. “Here we go.”

 

“Oh, man.” Bella shook her head. “How embarrassing.”

 

“What’s embarrassing?” Carlisle asked.

 

She twisted her leg. “I’m sorry. I forgot to shave.” She grimaced. “God, look at how skinny and pasty it is. It’s all shriveled.”

 

“You shouldn’t be embarrassed about that. I’ve seen much worse.”

 

“Gee, thanks.”

 

“I didn’t mean-”

 

Dr. Snow laughed. “Very smooth, Dr. Cullen.”

 

“Well, I try.”

~0~

Jasper and Edward had the kids, so Carlisle and Bella could celebrate. It had been a good evening so far. She’d let him take her to a fancy dinner. She was radiant as she sat across from him. The sight of her smile and the sound of her laughter made him happy. She had a couple glasses of wine at dinner, and when they walked out onto the sidewalk, she twirled around.

 

“It’s so great to be rid of that thing,” Bella said. She lifted her bad leg in the air and shook it about.

 

“Does it hurt?”  he asked, taking her hand to keep her steady.

 

“A little.” She rotated her leg. “But that’s okay. It’s in one piece and you know what?”

 

“What’s that?”

 

She grinned at him. “I’m going to run again. I want to finish that marathon.”

 

He drew his knuckles down her cheek. “I’m sorry it’s even a question if you can.”

 

She fixed him with a look. “Don’t start that again.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. He pulled her against him both to support her weight and because it felt so good. Her tongue swept over his bottom lip and lapped at his mouth.

 

Someone clearing their throat as they passed brought Carlisle back down to Earth. Bella ducked her head, hiding her face against his chest as she chuckled. He laughed with her and nuzzled her hair with the tip of his nose, feeling more giddy and light than he had in what felt like forever.

 

Being in love agreed with him.

 

Bella tilted her head up to kiss his throat and then his chin. Her look was soft. “Take me home?”

 

He nodded and kissed her once more before he took her hand. Grinning at each other like idiots, they hurried off to find his car.

~0~

It was ridiculous how nervous Carlisle was.

 

In movies and television, sex was always so easy. He was supposed to get caught up in the passion of the moment. Every movement was suppose to be instinctual and obvious. In reality, there were so many questions. Even as they stumbled up the stairs, stopping every other one to steal another kiss, his mind spun. The floor, the bed, the couch? Talking about semantics killed the mood, didn’t it? And then the urge to be inside her was quickly becoming a need, but that was rude, wasn’t it? Generally speaking, Carlisle was a big fan of foreplay, but just then, he had more direct things in mind.

 

What if it was what she wanted?

 

What if it was what she expected?

 

They got in the door and began to shed layers between fervent kisses. Coats fell to the floor. She had his shirt unbuttoned and off his shoulders scant seconds after they closed the door behind them. He stopped to cup her cheek. “You’re beautiful.”

 

Bella’s smile was shy as she took his hand and lead him to her bedroom. She pushed him so he was sitting on the edge of her bed, and she straddled his lap. She tugged on the hem of his undershirt and he lifted his arms so she could take it off. He slipped his hands under her shirt, skimming his fingers over the skin of her back and unhooking her bra.

 

“Your heart is pounding so fast,” she murmured. Her palm was warm on his chest.

 

He laid the back of his hand over her heart. “So is yours.”

 

“Why are you scared?”

 

He pulled her shirt off and looked at her. His eyes strayed to her small, perky, amazing tits with nipples that begged for attention. He looked up before he could get distracted. “It’s been a long time, and Esme might have been lying when she extolled my virtues. She was kind that way.” He moved his hand from the too-quick beat of her heart to brush over one of her nipples. She gasped. “What are you afraid of?”

 

She pressed her lips together, tilting her head back as he rolled her nipple between his fingers. She gave a soft moan before she could speak. “I’m afraid of feeling silly and awkward.”

 

He ran his hands up her back as he leaned in to kiss her. “You feel soft and amazing.”

 

“You know what I mean.”

 

“I do, and I’m afraid of the same things you are.” He ducked his head to press a smattering of kisses about her collarbone. He worked his way back up to her lips. “We’ll figure it out together.”

 

In the end, it was very simple. They peeled what remained of their clothes off and ended up on their sides on her bed. He wanted to see her and touch her and kiss her. He hitched her leg up around his waist and pushed inside her in a slow, easy tempo. It wasn’t a deep position, but it was intimate.

 

Gradually, he lost the ability to think about what his hands and lips were doing. She seemed to be on the same page because her fingers had stalled as well save for the occasional dig of her nails against his skin. His mouth was open over hers, and they panted, each breathing the other’s air in as their pace became more fevered.

 

“I love you,” he said because it was the one and only thought running over and over in his head. “I love you.”

 

Her hips met his, and she smiled against his mouth. “I love you.”

 

Even after he was spent -- it had been so long and she felt incredible surrounding him -- he didn’t untangle himself right away. His one arm was curled around her, the other hooked under her knee, pulling her tighter to him. When he kissed her neck he tasted hot, salty skin.

 

They settled after a few minutes with Carlisle on his back and Bella’s arm over his chest. Their kisses were lazy, their eyelids drooping. Carlisle fell asleep with Bella’s hand in his over the steady beat of his heart.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So at the end of this, all barburella had to say was "No Cbutt" ... Chyeah. She's obsessed with PFach's ass, I swear to gah.


	9. Yes Cbutt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: What? What? Haven’t had enough? You want the Cbutt? FINE. HAVE THE FREGGN CBUTT.

Bella woke when the bed shifted, and she automatically put her hand out, expecting Jacob to be crawling toward her. Instead, she encountered the cool skin of a much larger body. She blinked and tried to shake away the cobwebs from her brain.

 

“Shh.” She felt gentle fingers in her hair and lips pressed to her forehead. “Go back to sleep.”

 

Memories resurfaced, and she blinked in the darkness to find Carlisle’s smiling face looking down on her. In a moment of sleep-induced panic, she reached for his hand. “Don’t go.”

 

He chuckled. “Just the bathroom, sweetheart. I’m not leaving you.”

 

She yawned and let go of his hand. “I suppose that’s okay.”

 

“Well thank you for your permission.”

 

She grinned up at him and snuggled back against her pillow, her hand folded under her cheek. He gazed at her adoringly and then stood. He stretched, and she wondered if he was giving her the amazing view on purpose.

 

Fuck, her boyfriend had a nice ass. Delectable. Delicious. Bitable. She watched it retreat and tried to figure out why she hadn’t stopped to appreciate it before.

 

When he came back just a few minutes later, she pulled him down onto the bed.

 

“I thought I told you to go back to sleep,” he said.

 

She tugged his hand, trying to get to her goal. She was still sleep-addled. “I’m very disobedient. Turn over.”

 

“Turn over?”

 

“Like an apple.”

 

He laughed. “You’re out of it.”

 

“Probably.” She curled her hand around his side and tugged. “Come on.”

 

He looked perplexed, but he did as she asked and rolled onto his belly.

 

“Ah. There.” She cupped her hand to his ass.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“I wanted to see if it was as firm as it looked.”

 

He pressed his lips together, and his shoulders shook with silent laughter. “What’s the verdict?”

 

She ducked her head and bit lightly into his skin. He gasped and she grinned. With a sigh, she rested her head in her arms on his back. “That’s hot,” she said.

 

Then it sunk into her that his skin was cool to the touch. Very cool. “You’re cold.”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“No. You’re cold.” Now that she thought of it, she was cold too. She’d fallen asleep pressed up against his super-heated body, but it was winter. She shivered and pushed herself up on her knees so she could figure out where the blankets went. Carlisle rolled onto his side as she tucked them both in. When she settled, he wrapped his arms around her and twined their legs together. She pressed open mouthed kisses to his neck, blowing hot puffs of air against his skin. “All warm?”

 

He pressed the pad of his ice cold foot against her ankle and she hissed. He chuckled. “I’m fine, Bella.”

 

“I’d say that’s an understatement.”

 

“You do wonders for my self-esteem, you know that?”

 

Bella snorted. “I know I’m younger than you are, but I wasn’t actually born yesterday. I work at the same hospital you do, big shot. Most of the women there either stop to tell me how lucky I am or they glare at me for taking the hospital’s most eligible bachelor off the market.”

 

“Do they really glare at you?”

 

“Don’t worry about it. Haters gonna hate.” She yawned. “Anyway. You are ridiculously attractive, Carlisle. Like Edward might just leave Jasper if you decided to swing his way attractive, and I happen to know he’s falling for your nanny. Hard.”

 

“That’s an intriguing offer. Edward is very pretty…”

 

She smacked his chest, and he cuddled her closer. “I’m happy with you,” he said as he kissed her nose. He peppered adoring kisses across her face, and she couldn’t doubt his words even if she’d wanted to.

 

His fingers found their way up under her chin, and he tilted her head up. “Tell me something.”

 

“What do you want to know?”

 

“What do you want?”

 

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to get frisky again? I’m a little sore, but-”

 

He kissed her quiet. “Tempting, beautiful girl, but first, I want to know.”

 

“What do I want?”

 

“From life.”

 

The smile fell from her lips. A lump rose in her throat, and she looked down to where her fingers combed through the sparse hair of his chest. “Same thing everyone wants, I guess.” She thought of the bills piling up and the fact she was still behind on the rent. “I want just a little bit of security. Enough to know my baby will have what he needs.”

 

“That’s survival.” His fingers played against her back. “I know you know how to survive. You will survive. But what do you want?”

 

“What do I want to be when I grow up?”

 

He smiled. “What you want to be, what you want to do, what do you dream about?”

 

Bella’s breath caught. “I don’t… I don’t know how to answer that.”

 

“I think you do.”

 

After so long of trying to survive from one month to the next, it was painful to think about hopes and dreams. “I… um. My dad used to talk about taking me to Greece. When I was in fourth grade and we first studied Greek myths, I got obsessed. He wanted to go with me.” She looked off, not seeing anything. “He took me to Yellowstone once. That’s the furthest away from home I’ve ever been.”

 

“You want to go to Greece.”

 

Bella sighed. “I want a lot of things.” She hadn’t admitted that to anyone. She rolled away from him onto her back and pulled the blankets up over her shoulder. “What do you want?”

 

He blinked as though he were startled. “From life?”

 

“That’s what you asked me.”

 

“I...What would I want now that I have you? I have a career, my children. I’ve traveled.”

 

“You’ve done everything there is in the world to do? You have no ambitions, no dreams left?”

 

“Well, when you put it that way…”

 

The skin around his eyes tightened, and Bella pressed her thumb to the crease. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

 

“You don’t have to apologize. I didn’t realize until you said it.”

 

“What didn’t you realize?”

 

“I didn’t realize I’d stopped planning for the future. I work, I raise my girls, I keep myself busy, but it’s been a long time since I’ve had a goal to work toward.”

 

Bella worked her leg between his, ignoring the ache of her mended bone. His lips turned up at the corners, and the sadness drained from his eyes. “You’re going to get me worked up.”

 

“That’s the general idea, smarty.”

 

“I thought you were sore.”

 

She rolled onto her back, bringing him with her. She ran her hands down to his ass, admiring again the firm musculature there. She wanted to feel his muscles flex as he moved inside her. “I think this is worth being a little sorer.”

~0~

The last four years, Carlisle had started the girls’ birthday the same way. He woke his babies up with kisses and cuddles. He got them dressed in the pretty party dresses Esme would have loved. He was no fool. He had at least three for each of them. They got whatever they wanted for breakfast. Alice wanted Beefaroni. Rosalie wanted her usual cereal.

 

After breakfast, Carlisle handed the girls over to Jasper and went to the cemetery. It was a cold, wet December day, but he’d brought a pad to kneel on while he cleared away the overgrown grass and arranged the flowers he’d brought.

 

Sitting back on his haunches, Carlisle traced the letter’s of his wife’s name. Esme Anne Cullen. Beloved Wife and Mother.

 

“Hello, my love.” He sighed, trying to find the right words. Already, his heart ached. She should have been there. She should have been there to hold their children. She should have been with him this morning to smother them in kisses. “Alice and Rosie are four today. You know that, I’m sure. You know everything. You know how smart and beautiful they are. I tell them you’re so proud of them, and that you love them. I would never let them forget you.”

 

He settled down, sitting on the pad and drawing his long legs up. “Every year, I sit here and wonder what the next year is going to be like, what the girls will be like on their birthday. Will there be a year when I can’t sneak off to talk to you? It seems wrong. It was you and me the day they were born. But then again, you’re always with us, aren’t you, love?

 

“It’s strange, so strange still loving you the way I do, the way I always will.” He shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. “I’m in love again. You told me I would love again, but I didn’t believe you. Remember? I couldn’t fathom it. I still can’t, in a lot of ways. It’s different. Not less, but different.

 

“Her name is Bella. I wish so much you could meet her and she could meet you. Isn’t that a paradoxical thought? You would have loved her, Esme. You would have loved the way she is with the girls. Rosalie gives her a hard time, but Bella’s patient. She’s good with them. I…” His breath caught and his heart ached. He dropped his head and wiped at a tear that fell from the corner of his eye. “She has me wondering if next year, the girls will have a mother to kiss them awake with me. Not that she ever would or ever could replace you, but if I can’t have you with me, I wonder what it would be like to share days like this with someone. If we’ll look at each other and remark at how much they’ve grown. I… I wonder what it would be like to share that with someone. For her to have experienced that whole year of their growth with me.”

 

He was breathless for a few heartbeats. “I want that more than I know how to admit. It scares me.” He put a hand over his eyes, overcome by the twist of emotions in him. Here he was, telling his wife about his girlfriend. He knew how lucky he was to have been loved by a woman like Esme. Even then, he ached, wishing with everything in him she could be there to love their girls, to love him, but she couldn’t be. She couldn’t be, and against all odds, Carlisle had found love again. He’d found another vibrant, beautiful woman who lit up his life. “I know I failed them, you, once, but I’ve done everything I could since then to be a good father. Bella… I think she’s good for all of us. I know she’s young, but I don’t think I’m being foolish. I wouldn’t play with Alice and Rosie’s lives.”

 

He took a few deep breaths and wiped away his tears. “I’ll bring the girls to see you soon. They like it. I don’t know how much they understand, but they like coming to visit you.” He pressed a kiss to his palm and his palm to the stone. “I love you, Esme. I’ll always love you.”

~0~

“Daddy, did we have to invite Jake?”

 

Carlisle glanced at his daughter in the mirror and shook his head. “You told Bella you wanted her to come, remember?”

 

Rosalie pouted. “I wanted Bella to come. Not Jacob.”

 

In the passenger seat, Jasper covered his mouth with one hand to hide his laugh.

 

“Bella is Jacob’s mommy. I wouldn’t go to the science museum without you. Do you think Bella would go without Jacob?”

 

“Humph.”

 

“Rosie, be nice,” Alice said. “Jacob told me he got you a present.”

 

“Oh.” Rosalie thought about that for a second. “Okay. I like presents.”

 

Again, Jasper muffled his snort with his hand.

 

“I’m ever so glad my children amuse you,” Carlisle said, shaking his head.

 

A few minutes later they were parked. As soon as Jasper had opened the passenger door, Alice was already running.

 

“Whoa, whoa, Ally Girl.” Jasper caught her around the waist. “What have I told you about running where there are cars?”

 

“Not to. I’m sorry.” She wiggled. “Let me down. I see Jacob an’ Bella an’ Edward. I’ll walk.”

 

Carlisle in the meantime had set Rosalie down. She took his hand as they went to greet the others. By the time they got there, Alice was already happily chattering to them about the things Carlisle had told her they would find in the museum.

 

“There’s a butterfly house. That’s a house where the butterflies live an’ maybe they’ll land on us.”

 

“I’m excited,” Bella said, ruffling Alice’s hair.

 

“Edward said there are naked rats,” Jacob told Alice.

 

Rosalie heard, and she automatically clung to Carlisle, trying to climb him. “Daddy, I don’t want to see rats.” Her lower lip started to tremble.

 

“Um, Edward is probably wrong. He usually is,” Jacob tried to amend. He looked apologetic as Carlisle lifted his whimpering daughter up into his arms.

 

“Thanks, Jake.” Edward sighed. “Mole rats. I said there were naked mole rats. There’s a big difference, Rose.”

 

Bella shook her head as she stepped to Carlisle’s side. “Hey, you.”

 

“Hi.” He smiled, welcoming the happy rush he always felt when he saw her. He leaned down to kiss her.

 

“Daddy, yuck.” Rosalie screwed up her face.

 

Bella chuckled and kissed Rosalie’s cheek instead. “Happy birthday, Rose.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Me, too!” Alice jumped up and down at Bella’s feet. “It’s my birthday, too. Me an’ Rose were born on the same exact day.”

 

Bella stooped down to hug Alice tight. “Happy birthday to you, too.”

 

“You girls can have your present from me now, if you want. They’re wearable,” Edward said, squatting down to four-year-old height with two very pretty, little girl hats in his hands.

 

Rosalie gasped and wiggled, trying to get back down on the ground. “Hats!”

 

“I helped him pick out the prettiest ones for my pretty girls,” Jasper said, resting his hand on Edward’s head.

 

Carlisle took the opportunity to step to Bella’s side for a proper hello kiss. “Regretting saying yes to this yet?”

 

She took his hand and kissed the underside of his chin. “Bah. We’ll be fine. There are four of us and only three of them. We got this.”

~0~

It was a tiring but good day. The kids were hyper but eager as always to learn. Carlisle marveled at how perceptive they could be, how they soaked up knowledge with wide, wondering eyes. Their blank pages were constantly being written upon.

 

“You ever think about the fact that it could be one of these little things we do with them that will stick with them?” Bella asked as she sat beside him. “Like Jake might not ever remember this day, but some time in the future, when he’s trying to decide what he wants to do with his life, he might say, ‘hey, I know… naked mole rats. I want to do something about that.’”

 

Carlisle smiled at the idea and squeezed her hand. “Come to think of it, that’s probably how I decided I wanted to do what I do.”

 

“What? You cut things open?”

 

“No.” He leaned in to nuzzle his nose below her ear so she giggled. “I played doctor with the other kids.”

 

“Oh, so you were always a pervert, huh?”

 

“I’m selectively perverted in my old age.”

 

She smiled and tilted her head with a far off look. “I wanted to be a geneticist once.”

 

“A geneticist? That would be interesting.”

 

“It would probably be very, very boring in practice, but I liked Punnett squares when we learned them in school.”

 

He looped his arm around her to hug her close. “You could still do it, you know.”

 

“Not genetics.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “Something. Someday.”

~0~

Carlisle had noticed the woman watching them as they made their way through the museum. He couldn’t quite read the look on her face, but he felt a rush of irritation. He wondered what she was staring at. There was plenty to choose from if she was the judgemental sort. Edward and Jasper held hands frequently as they walked along and had kissed more than once as they played with the kids. They weren’t tawdry kisses, but that hardly mattered to some.

 

Or was it the noticeable age difference between Carlisle and Bella? She looked even younger than she was, as Carlisle had noted when he first saw her. They might have been mistaken for relations of some kind, but then, he’d been demonstrative toward her all day. No doubt the woman had seen them kiss.

 

Then, of course, there was the question of the three children. Young as they were, they all looked the same age. Who belonged to whom?

 

What did they all look like to others?

 

Carlisle was trying to catch a picture of Rosalie and Jacob playing together -- smiling and everything -- for photographic evidence when the woman finally plucked up the courage to come over to them.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Carlisle instinctively reached for Bella’s hand. He wasn’t ashamed of any of them, and he was ready to tell that woman such. “Yes?”

 

The woman smiled. “I just wanted to say, you have a beautiful family.”

 

“I… Oh.”

 

“I was wondering if you wanted me to take a picture of all of you?”

 

Carlisle smiled, feeling sheepish. “That would be wonderful. Thank you.”

 

The woman was patient as they got organized, deciding who would stand by whom and who wanted to hold hands and who wanted up. The end result made Carlisle smile wide.

 

There was Edward with his arm around Jasper who held a grinning, sleepy Alice with his other arm. Rosalie was posed on Carlisle’s hip, her head tilted toward her sister, smiling primly at the camera. Bella was pressed against Carlisle’s side, her hand to his chest, her arm around his waist. Jacob was in front of all them, making the ridiculous faces little boys were prone to.

  
His beautiful, motley family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: One more chapter left!


	10. Run In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And we come to an end. Let’s see how our kids turn out.

“Jacob, let’s get a move on, bub.”

 

Jake rolled over from where he was on the floor with Rosalie and Alice to look at Bella. “But it’s in the middle. You can’t leave a movie in the middle.”

 

“You can, especially when you’ve seen that movie a million times. Isn’t this the second time tonight?”

 

“Fine. But it’s not fair.” He got to his feet in a huff and put his hands on his hips. “Mommy, we’re here all the time anyway. Why don’t we just live here?”

 

“Yeah, Mommy.” Carlisle, who to that point had been flipping through a medical journal on the couch, spoke in a low, disinterested tone. “Why don’t you just live here?”

 

Bella narrowed her eyes at the top of her boyfriend’s head. He continued to stare down at his journal, the picture of innocence. She closed her eyes and and sighed. “Get your things, Jake. Please.”

 

Jacob went in search of his backpack, and Carlisle finally looked up. What little ire had sparked in Bella vanished. He was wearing his reading glasses. She had a thing for men in glasses. She had a thing for Carlisle specifically.

 

“You’re lucky you’re so pretty,” she said as she dropped down next to him on the couch. She draped her legs over his knees and spoke in a quiet voice so the girls wouldn’t pay attention.

 

Carlisle gave her an angelic smile and curled his hand around her ankle. He began to press his fingers, kneading. It felt good. Of course it felt good. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

“Uh huh.”

 

His smile fell, and he reached beyond her to pluck an envelope from her purse. She grabbed at it, but she knew he knew exactly what it was. “I saw it earlier. When were you going to tell me?”

 

“It’s not your problem.”

 

“It is my problem.” He shook his head, and she recognized the frustration there. She’d hurt him. It wasn’t the first time. “Bella-”

 

He was interrupted when Jacob came running back into the room. “I’m ready.” He sounded so sullen.

 

Bella chewed the inside of her cheek and made a split second decision. “Can you sit for a while, bub? I need to talk to Carlisle in the kitchen.”

 

“You just told me-”

 

“Jake. Please.”

 

His expression turned pensive. The girls must have heard the turn in her tone because they both rolled over. “Are you fighting?” Rosalie asked.

 

“No,” Carlisle and Bella said at the same time. They glanced at each other. “We’re just going to talk,” Bella said.

 

“You go to the kitchen when you fight.”

 

“And when they tell secrets,” Alice said.

 

“We’re not going to fight. I promise.”

 

“No fighting. Daddy gets very sad when you fight.” Rosalie wagged her finger for emphasis.

 

Bella held her hand out for Carlisle’s and pulled him to his feet. “No fighting.”

 

She led him away. As soon as they were behind closed doors, Carlisle started to argue though he didn’t raise his voice. “How can you still believe your problems aren’t my problems?”

 

“We just promised our children we weren’t going to fight.”

 

“No, you promised our children we weren’t going to fight. I have every intention of fighting.” He began to pace. “This is supposed to be a partnership. For the last six months I’ve watched you struggle with your rent and your bills.”

 

Bella folded her arms over her chest. “I caught up with the rent. I’m working on the bills now.”

 

“That envelope said final notice, which means it’s already messed with your credit.” He stopped and threw his hands up in frustration. “This is your life, Bella. What is the point of all this if you won’t share your life with me? You work so hard. You don’t have to work this hard. Or you could be putting all that energy into something you want. Something more than just surviving. I want to help you, and you won’t let me.”

 

Watching a man like Carlisle who had such rigid control of himself come undone always struck her as profound. That he cared for her so much he could lose his control left her both scared and elated. “I can’t stand to watch you struggle like this,” he said. “I’ve tried-”

 

“Marry me.” As soon as Bella blurted the words she clapped a hand over her mouth and stared, wide-eyed, at him.

 

“I… What?”

 

Bella opened her mouth to take it back, but then she considered the idea. “Marry me.”

 

Carlisle looked very confused. Then it was Bella who was pacing. “I know we’re supposed to wait and be sure. That’s what I’ve been trying to do. The thing is, I don’t want to move in here because I’m struggling for money. I want you to want me to move in. I think you do. I know I do. So marry me. If you want me to share your life, you should be able to say yes. I… I’m sure that’s not what popular wisdom says, but I don’t know how to do the trial basis thing. I’m in. I’m all in. I want to be all in, but-”

 

All at once, Carlisle, who had been frozen in place, staring at her, rushed forward and took her face between his hands. Whatever else she was going to say was drowned against his mouth. He only let her go after he’d kissed them both breathless. “You want to get married?”

 

English was a complex language when someone had been kissed stupid. “I, um… if you’ll have me?”

 

He laughed and kissed her again, slow this time. “Bella,” he mumbled against her lips. “I would have asked you months ago except I figured if something like paying your phone bill sent you into a tailspin, a proposal would send you running.”

 

“Ah. It probably would have.” She took a small step backward so she could look at him. “I’m a pain in the ass, Carlisle. I’m stubborn. You have to wait until I figure things out for myself.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Did you really want to propose to me months ago?”

 

“What did you say before? You don’t know how to do the trial basis thing?” Carlisle rested his hands at her waist and kissed the tip of her nose. “That’s as good a way to describe it as any. My modes are ‘not interested’ and ‘head over heels’, it seems.”

 

He tilted his head down and put his lips to hers again. “You really want to marry me?”

 

“I asked, didn’t I?”

 

He kisses the side of her mouth and her chin. “You’ll move in here?” He kissed along her jaw. “And let me help with the bills. And let me buy you an engagement ring?”

 

“I will move in here. If I’m living here, I’ll be able to pay my own damn bills, and yeah, since you like it, I’ll let you put a ring on it.”

 

He laughed and moved his hands to cup her face so he could look at her. “I love you.”

 

Before she could answer, he was kissing her again. These kisses built quickly in momentum, and Carlisle pressed forward until her back was up against the counter. He rested his hands on the flat surface on either side of her as he leaned in. His tongue slid along hers.

 

“Whoa.” Jacob’s voice interrupted them, and they turned in time to see the little boy close the door again. “They are definitely not fighting. Ew.”

 

Bella groaned and banged her head against Carlisle’s shoulder as they laughed. He nuzzled his nose against her head. “Stay tonight, Bella. Please? I don’t want you to go home tonight. Jake left some of his school clothes here last week, and they got laundered. Just stay.”

 

She tilted her head up to kiss the underside of his jaw. “I’ll stay.”

~0~

Carlisle parked the van and took a deep breath. He reached over to take Bella’s hand and squeezed. “Are you ready for this?”

 

Her hands were clammy, and her face was pale. Her fingers trembled in his, but she swallowed hard and nodded her head. “Yeah. I’m good.”

 

“Not for nothing, lovebirds, but you must release us from the childproof locks,” Edward said from the back of the van.

 

“It’s crowded back here for the big kids,” Jasper said.

 

Alice giggled. “You’re not a kid, Jasper. You’re old.”

 

Jasper leaned forward from the back seat to kiss Alice’s forehead. “Thanks, munchkin. That’s exactly what a guy likes to hear.”

 

Carlisle shook his head and clicked the button to open the side doors of the van. It took a few minutes to get everyone out and organized, then they were off.

 

“Are we really going to be on TV, Mommy?” Jacob asked. He swung their hands as they walked.

 

“We’ll see, bub.”

 

Carlisle took her free hand and squeezed again. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

 

“I already said I would.” She turned to him, and as always, her smile sent a thrill through him. He couldn’t help swooping down to kiss her once before they stepped up to the starting pavillion.

 

It was hard to believe a year ago he was alone. He’d come to this race with his little girls and their nanny. Now, Bella was at his side as they kissed the kids and went in search of the reporter who had approached them some weeks before. Apparently, their story made a good human interest piece about the marathon.

 

They found the tent they had been asked to meet at and were greeted by a vivacious young woman with a soft smile.

 

“Hello, I’m Angela Weber. You’re Dr. Cullen and Miss Swan, right?”

 

They shook hands and Angela brought them to where they could sit.

 

“This is my cameraman, Eric. Try not to pay attention to him. Just be natural. It’s a friendly conversation. No interrogation, I promise.” She grinned.

 

As she went to get set up, Carlisle again reached out for Bella’s hand. “You breathing?”

 

“I think I got it.”

 

He leaned in, bringing their joined hands to his chest as he kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear. “You’re fabulous, and now everyone in the Seattle area will know it.”

 

That brought a smile to her lips. She turned and skimmed her nose along his cheek. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

 

Angela cleared her throat to get their attention. Carlisle turned to see the cameras on and pointed at them. He smirked. He couldn’t help it. Typically, he was a discreet person, but he couldn’t help the rush of pride he felt that he was the one who got to kiss Bella. He was the one she trusted.

 

“Ready, kids?” Angela asked, sitting opposite them.

 

Carlisle looked to Bella and raised an eyebrow. She grinned. “We’re ready.”

~0~

Bella had worked hard to get in shape for the marathon, but she wasn’t up to the speed she had been before the accident by a long shot. On top of not being as fit as she once was, her leg wasn’t as strong. She’d worked hard, but she had work, a baby to raise, and a relationship to tend to. It hadn’t been easy, not that she was complaining.

 

Angela had, of course, asked her about the trials and tribulations she came up against after having been so badly injured a year before. Bella thought back to the interview, if only to distract herself from the bone-deep ache in her leg.

 

“You never resented Carlisle for all the pain and hardship you suffered as a result of your injuries?”

 

Bella reached over to put her hand on Carlisle’s knee. He was still so guilty. “I never saw the point of resenting him or blaming him. He tripped. All of us have tripped. What good would it have done me to be angry?” She looked over to Carlisle and smiled. “If I’d resented him, look at all I would have missed. I gained so much more from not being angry.”

 

“A doctor fiance, a family,” Angela said.

 

Bella grinned. “My best friend even fell in love with his nanny.”

 

Angela laughed. “Well, how ‘bout them apples.”

 

“What are you smiling about?” Carlisle asked, bringing her back to the present.

 

“Nonya. You know,” she said between pants. “You don’t have to hang back. You could have already finished by now.”

 

He rolled his eyes. “The point of this isn’t to finish first. Besides, what was it you told Angela?”

 

Bella shook her head. “I knew that was going to inflate your massive ego.”

 

“Any tricks you use to keep up your energy for a race like this?” Angela asked.

 

“Yeah,” Bella said. “The best motivation is to run behind a person with a nice butt.” She ruffled Carlisle’s hair. “Luckily, I have that covered.”

 

Carlisle ran a few paces ahead and looked back to wink at her. “Come on, sweetheart. We’re almost done.”

 

After the initial pack of the fastest runners, people tended to be more spaced out. For most of the marathon, Carlisle and Bella had been by themselves. There were always a scattering of people ahead of them and behind them but nothing like the crowd they’d run in the year before.

 

Then, as chance would have it, by the time they started up that last hill where everything had gone to hell the first time, a crowd of runners caught up with them. Before Bella could process what was happening, her body, her mind, began to feel odd. There was a prickling like panic that made her concrete thoughts difficult to hold on to. The throb in her leg seemed to send spasms of pain throughout her whole body. Her breath spiked. She was already breathing hard because she’d been running, but this was different. Her heartbeat was erratic.

 

As the other runners passed closer, surrounding them, Bella’s vision flashed. They were shattered bits of memories. Of falling. Of pain and disjointed voices all around her.

 

Her leg wobbled with each footfall. Then it would not hold her. She pitched forward and rolled. The world was nothing but fear and pain. The noises all around her were nonsensical and frightening.

 

Then, above it all, she heard a soothing voice. She couldn’t make out the words at first, but the voice seemed to go with the soft touch she felt on her cheek and her back. She recognized that voice. She trusted that voice. That voice would protect her from the feet.

 

She took a deep breath, realizing only then her lungs were burning for air.

 

“That’s it, Bella. Just breathe. I got you,” Carlisle said against her ear.

 

“Sir? Step away. We can help.”

 

“She’s fine. She’s not hurt.” She felt his hand against her brow. “I think she’s just having a flashback. Give her some room, would you?”

 

Bella forced herself to open her eyes. She blinked, trying to focus, and regretted it. She groaned and ducked to hide her head against Carlisle’s neck. They were surrounded by people, and she couldn’t stop shaking.

 

“Just breathe, Bella. You’re just fine.” He rocked her.

 

“Mommy. Mommy.”

 

Bella’s eyes flew open again. Her baby was crying. Of course he was crying. He hadn’t been here last year when she was hurt, but he knew damn well what had happened.

 

The crowd parted, and Bella was surrounded again, but this time with friendly faces.

 

“Mommy?” Jacob said again. He got loose of Edward’s hand and dropped to his knees beside her.

 

Taking a deep breath, Bella lifted a shaking hand. “I’m okay, bub.”

 

“Are you sure? You have cuts.”

 

A glance down at her legs showed she had scraped them up. “Ah, those are nothing Jake.”

 

“You should kiss them better, Daddy,” Alice said from her place in Jasper’s arms.

 

Carlisle smiled at her. “It’s not a bad idea,” he said, waggling his eyebrows. “A kiss can be ten times more effective than morphine in reducing pain, as it's thought that it activates the body's natural painkillers. That’s medical fact.”

 

She leaned close so she could speak in his ear. “Well, I know what we’re doing tonight then.”

 

Edward sighed. “This hill is cursed for you.”

 

“So it would seem.” Bella winced as she pressed her tender hand to the ground, trying to push herself up.

 

“I’ll help you, Bella,” Rosalie said. She took her hand and pulled.

 

Carlisle laughed and shifted his grip on her so he was supporting her weight. “Can you stand?”

 

“Um.” Bella let go of Rosalie’s hand to put her other arm around Edward’s shoulder. Together, they got her up. She still felt shaky. She put pressure on her bad leg and groaned when a spasm of pain shot up her body.

 

“Here.” Carlisle made sure Edward had a good grip on her before he bent in front of her.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Come on. We’re finishing this race.”

 

Realizing what he wanted, Bella laughed. She let go of Edward to loop her arms around Carlisle’s neck. She clung as he straightened, hitching her good leg up around his waist without trouble and her bad one up with his help.

 

“Ready?” he asked, holding her securely to him.

 

Everyone was staring. The cameras were on them. People were smiling, and everyone she loved was with her. “Let’s do this.”

~The End~

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I’d like to thank barburella, jessypt, and songster for their help. And mina for the pretteh banner.
> 
> Tiffany! You like?
> 
> Everyone else… YOU like?
> 
> I like YOU!


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